French authorities said Thursday they are investigating 560 taxpayers over tax evasion based on information garnered in the leaked Panama Papers.

HSBC bank on Wednesday said it had agreed to sell its business in Lebanon to Lebanese peer BLOM Bank for an undisclosed amount, ending a 70-year presence in the country.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Thursday an interest rate increase likely will be appropriate "relatively soon" as long as there is further evidence of progress in the economy.

However, in testimony prepared for delivery to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, Yellen said the Fed expects it will only have to raise rates gradually. 

On top of a long-abandoned building, 50 young Arab Israelis listen attentively to Emad Madah as smoke billows into the sky in the distance behind them.

Deutsche Bank intends to claw back millions in bonuses from six former top executives, a German newspaper said Thursday, as the embattled lender seeks to cut costs and boost its capital cushion.

Canada expects to keep its 1989 bilateral free trade agreement with the United States if US President-elect Donald Trump withdraws from NAFTA, the Canadian ambassador to the US said Wednesday.

Demand for natural gas will grow in 2017 but at a slower rate than in recent years, Qatar's energy minister said on Thursday ahead of a meeting of exporting countries.

As Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its oil-dependent economy, the chief of a Red Sea "megacity" says his project is pointing the way forward.

Singapore will launch a new electronic payment system using blockchain, the technology behind the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, the city-state's central bank chief said Wednesday. 

The Singapore stock exchange and eight banks will take part in the pilot project, which includes payment between banks, said Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chief executive Ravi Menon at the Singapore Fintech Festival. 

Kuwait must enact further subsidy reforms to trim its budget deficit resulting from low oil prices despite political sensitivity, the International Monetary Fund has said.

Posting its first budget shortfall of $15 billion last fiscal year following 16 years of surpluses, OPEC member Kuwait has adopted a series of austerity measures raising the prices of fuel, power and water.