Is inflation about to rise? Are interest rates too high? Or too low? Are economic risks lurking? These are the fears that keep U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell from getting a good night's sleep.

While he was generally upbeat about the U.S. economy, predicting that the good news could continue "effectively indefinitely," when asked what keeps him up at night, Powell said, "Basically everything."

France's government unveiled draft legislation Wednesday setting out preparations for a possible no-deal Brexit, with authorities already recruiting customs officers to secure the border along the English Channel.

The annual inflation rate in Turkey rose to nearly 25 percent in September, official statistics showed on Wednesday, as the Turkish lira remains weak against the US dollar despite a sharp interest rate hike last month.

Italy's populist government will bow to pressure from Brussels and reduce its budget deficit targets for 2020 and 2021 in a bid to reassure skittish markets, two Italian dailies reported Wednesday.

After declaring last week it was setting the public deficit at around 2.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for the next three years, Rome now plans to reduce the targeted gap to 2.2 percent in 2020 and 2.0 percent in 2021, the Corriere della Sera and Repubblica dailies said.

The bitter trade dispute between China and the US is increasingly spilling into the military domain, with a risky incident in the South China Sea highlighting the dangers of souring relations.

EU finance ministers on Tuesday vowed to crack down on money laundering in the wake of a $235 billion Danske bank scandal that shone a negative light on supervision standards in Europe.

Canadian dairy farmers have castigated Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government for yielding to U.S. demands for greater access to Canada's protected milk and cheese market as part of a new continental trade pact, but auto workers were pleased.

Saudi Arabia has given a $200 million cash infusion to Yemen's Central Bank to shore up its reserves after the war-torn country's currency went into freefall over the past few weeks.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency says the "donation" will help "achieve stability of the Yemeni economy and boost the local currency."

Oil prices held around four-year highs Tuesday after another blistering rally, supporting energy firms, but most markets were in retreat as traders brushed off a positive lead from Wall Street and the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said tensions with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were over after announcing a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada to replace the quarter-century-old NAFTA accord.