Bank of America posted a third-quarter profit Wednesday that topped estimates, saying provisions for credit losses were sharply lower than a year ago.

Net income was $2.5 billion in the July-September period, up from $340 million in the 2012 third quarter.

Canada is close to reaching a free trade deal with the European Union, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday.

"We will soon complete negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union," Harper said in a Twitter message.

French big box retailer Carrefour saw its sales fall in the third quarter of the year, as the persistently poor economy in southern Europe stymies the company's effort at a turnaround.

The company said Thursday that revenue was 21.1 billion euros ($28.6 billion) in the July-to-September quarter, down 1.3 percent at current exchange rates from the same quarter last year.

Foreign investment in China rose 6.2 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2013, the government said Thursday.

However, while the commerce ministry said Chinese investment overseas had increased sharply over the first nine months of the year, the amount of cash going to Japan had almost halved.

The United States was spared the ignominy of a disastrous debt default Wednesday when Congress passed a bill extending the nation's borrowing authority and ending a two-week government shutdown.

After weeks of tumultuous debate, the measure passed first with less than two hours to run until October 17, the date from which the Treasury had warned it might not be able to pay its bills.

Republican and Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate struck an agreement Wednesday to end a fiscal impasse, hours before Washington hits its debt limit, a senator said.

"I understand that they've come to an agreement," said Senator Kelly Ayotte, a Republican from New Hampshire.

China's 400 richest people became $150 billion wealthier this year, Forbes magazine said Wednesday, despite a slowdown in the world's second largest economy.

The vast increase -- an average of almost $400 million each -- highlights the growing inequality between the Communist country's superrich and the millions who still live in poverty.

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as investors focus on the United States, where lawmakers remain at loggerheads over a budget bill despite having just over a day to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a default.

Earlier optimism that Congress would eventually reach an agreement to fund the government is slowly giving way to despair, while Fitch ratings agency added to jitters by putting Washington's AAA rating on a downgrade warning.

Leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate were negotiating separate but similar plans Tuesday to reopen the U.S. government and prevent a default on American debt that economists say could tip the global economy back into recession.

The Senate moved first, taking the country halfway toward solving a bitter fight between Republicans and President Barack Obama's Democrats over government spending. In the House of Representatives, Republican leaders began moving Tuesday toward a similar deal, apparently viewing a shift in tactics as inevitable. Many conservatives, however, still were standing fast against the plan that would fund the government through Jan. 15 and allow the Treasury to borrow money to pay U.S. bills until February.

Cyprus is on the road to recovery from its bailout crisis, the European Council president said Tuesday during a first top-level EU visit since the island's near economic meltdown.

"I have no illusions about the uncertainty, fear and anger felt by many, who either lost or fear losing their jobs," Herman Van Rompuy told reporters after talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.