Tiny Lebanon sits on one of the largest gold reserves in the Middle East and its government is weighing whether it can use that stockpile to restore a crippled economy while its citizens are looking at gold as a way to protect their battered assets.

Lebanon's economy hobbled into 2026 with ongoing inflation and state decay and no reforms to combat corruption in sight. Its banks collapsed in late 2019 in a crippling fiscal crisis that evaporated depositors' savings and plunged about half its population of 6.5 million into poverty, after decades of rampant corruption, waste, and mismanagement. The country suffered some $70 billion in losses in its financial sector, further compounded by about $11 billion in the 2024 Israeli war.

The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday as the economy in the 21 countries that use the euro chugs past the disruption from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs with growth modest, yet resilient.

The bank left its benchmark deposit rate at 2%, where it has been since June. after a series of cuts from the peak of 4% starting in mid-2024.

The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it wants to create a critical minerals trading bloc with its allies and partners, using tariffs to maintain minimum prices and defend against China's stranglehold on the key elements needed for everything from fighter jets to smartphones.

Vice President JD Vance said the U.S.-China trade war over the past year exposed how dependent most countries are on the critical minerals that Beijing largely dominates, so collective action is needed now to give the West self-reliance.

World shares retreated Thursday in Asia on heavy selling of technology stocks, while the price of bitcoin fell as much as 8%.

The latest round of jitters over high prices for tech shares sent South Korea's Kospi down nearly 4%. Oil prices sank more than $1 a barrel.

The Bank of England kept its main interest rate unchanged at 3.75% on Thursday with U.K. inflation remaining above target and economic growth is showing signs of picking up.

The decision was widely anticipated in financial markets but the split on the nine-member rate-setting panel was much closer than expected. Five members of the Monetary Policy Committee opted to keep rates unchanged while four voted for a quarter-point cut.

U.S. President Donald Trump has extended a 26-year-old free-trade agreement with African countries that was left in doubt last year when his administration allowed it to expire while enforcing his policy of reciprocal tariffs.

Trump on Tuesday signed into law an extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Eurozone inflation eased in January to 1.7 percent, official data showed Wednesday, thanks to a faster decline in energy costs.

The rise in consumer prices dipped from 2.0 percent the month before, and fell below the European Central Bank's target of two percent. The January reading was in line with forecasts of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg and FactSet.

Indian lawmakers from the ruling coalition praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday for striking a deal with the U.S. that seeks to reduce tariffs on Indian goods, while the opposition raised questions on the impact on sensitive sectors such as agriculture.

President Donald Trump on Monday announced he plans to reduce import tariff on India, six months after imposing steep taxes to punish New Delhi for its unabated purchase of Russian oil that he claimed helped fuel Moscow's war machine against Ukraine.

Mexico and the United States said Tuesday that they had reached an agreement under which Mexico would send a minimum amount of water annually to the U.S.

President Donald Trump had threatened to raise tariffs by 5% on Mexican imports if it did not deliver more water. The countries have been negotiating the issue for months.

The Trump administration is expected to unveil its grandest plan yet to rebuild supply chains of critical minerals needed for everything from jet engines to smartphones, likely through purchase agreements with partners on top of creating a $12 billion U.S. strategic reserve to help counter China's dominance.

Vice President JD Vance is set to deliver a keynote address Wednesday at a meeting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hosting with officials from several dozen European, Asian and African nations. The U.S. is expected to sign deals on supply chain logistics, though details have not yet been revealed. Rubio met Tuesday with foreign ministers from South Korea and India to discuss critical minerals mining and processing.