Bank of England policymakers recently voted unanimously to maintain record-low interest rate and the amount of cash stimulus for the improving British economy, minutes showed on Wednesday.

The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted 9-0 to keep its key lending rate at 0.50 percent and maintain its bond-buying quantitative easing (QE) scheme at £375 billion ($607 billion, 441 billion euros), according to minutes of a meeting held in early October.

Australian inflation rose by a stronger-than-expected 1.2 percent in the July-September period compared to the previous quarter, official data showed Wednesday, reducing expectations of further monetary easing this year.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed the consumer price index (CPI) was up 2.2 percent through the year to September -- above economists' expectations of a 1.8 percent annual rise.

Russia has signed an $85 billion deal to supply oil to China, visiting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday, expanding energy trade between the giant neighbors.

The two governments also agreed to jointly construct an oil refinery in Tianjin east of Beijing, Medvedev said in comments posted on the website of the government's Xinhua News Agency. Xinhua said he made them during an online forum with Internet users.

China and Singapore have agreed to allow direct trading between each other's currency, Singapore's central bank said Tuesday.

The move, along with other agreements on financial cooperation, is expected to bolster Singapore's status as a leading offshore trading center for the Chinese yuan, officially called the renminbi(RMB).

The world's biggest listed crude producer Rosneft and Chinese oil giant Sinopec announced on Tuesday a framework agreement on advance payment by Sinopec for Russian oil deliveries.

The deal will see Sinopec -- China's largest oil refiner -- pay 25-30 percent of the total cost of a 10-year contract under which Rosneft will deliver 10 million tonnes of oil per year starting in 2014.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) said Tuesday the composition of its fleet was under discussion after plane-maker Airbus announced its intent to scoop up half the Japanese market.

The European manufacturer is riding high after bagging a landmark $9.5 billion order from Japan Airlines (JAL) earlier this month, and wasted no time in setting out its aims in a country that has traditionally been a Boeing stronghold.

McDonald's says its third quarter profit rose 5 percent, as the world's biggest hamburger chain benefited from a Monopoly promotion in the U.S. and strength in the UK and Russia.

The company says it earned $1.52 billion, or $1.52 per share, for the quarter ended September 30. That compares with $1.46 billion, or $1.43 per share, last year. Analysts expected $1.51 per share.

Starbucks has become the latest foreign firm to be roasted by China's state-run media, following a series of accusations it is overcharging consumers.

State broadcaster CCTV aired a seven-minute-long report criticising the coffee shop chain's pricing in China, arguing that a tall latte in Beijing is more expensive than in London, Chicago and Mumbai.

Dutch group Philips, which has transformed itself away from some of its traditional businesses, reported an almost three-fold surge in third-quarter net profit on Monday.

The company also announced that later in the day it would begin to buy back its own shares under a program totaling 1.5 billion euros ($2.0 billion).

French energy giant EDF said Monday it had won a deal worth 16 billion pounds (18.9 billion euros) to build two nuclear reactors in Britain.

"This deal means £16 billion of investment coming into the country and the creation of 25,000 jobs," said British Prime Minister David Cameron in a joint EDF-British government press release.