The inflation plaguing European shoppers has fallen faster than expected. The economy is in the dumps. That has people talking about interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank, perhaps as soon as the first few months of next year.

No rate move is expected at the bank's policy meeting Thursday, and analysts say ECB President Christine Lagarde is highly unlikely to confirm any plans to cut. She may even warn that it's too early to declare victory over inflation despite how it's improved.

As the United Nations COP28 climate summit ended Wednesday, Sultan al-Jaber walked out with what the United Arab Emirates wanted all along — the prestige of hosting negotiations that got the world to agree to transition away from fossil fuels while still being able to pump ever-more oil.

That left some wanting much more from the two weeks of talks, even as many praised its historic accord. But it no longer will matter to the state oil company chief executive and renewable energy advocate who embodies many of the traits that have propelled this young nation into the global spotlight.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have escalated attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea during the Israel-Hamas war, raising concerns about the impact on the flow of oil, grain and consumer goods through a major global trade artery.

Israeli-linked vessels have been targeted, but the threat to trade has grown this week as a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker was struck and missiles were fired at a vessel carrying jet fuel toward the Suez Canal, where about 10% of the world's trade passes through.

Leading international ratings agency Moody's has affirmed the Government of Lebanon's issuer rating at C and has changed the outlook to stable from no outlook.

Each day the Gaza war continues, the ripple effect to neighboring Arab countries will have lasting socioeconomic setbacks, two U.N. agencies have warned.

Senior North Korean economic officials met with the governor of a Russian region along the Pacific coast for discussions on boosting economic cooperation between the countries, North Korean state media said Wednesday.

The meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, came as concerns have grown in South Korea that the North may be attempting to expand its labor exports to Russia in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions to generate revenue for its struggling economy and help fund leader Kim Jong Un's nuclear weapons program.

ZFacing mounting calls for a boycott, Spanish fashion brand Zara has withdrawn a controversial advertising campaign featuring body bags after it sparked online fury over its similarity to war-torn Gaza.

Addressing the controversy, Zara -- which is owned by Spain's Inditex, the world's biggest fashion retailer -- denied the claims but nonetheless removed the controversial images from its website.

Thousands of protesters gathered Tuesday in the capital of the European Union, calling for better public services, salaries and living conditions.

The protest in downtown Brussels took place during EU negotiations over the new Stability and Growth Pact, which aims to limit debt and deficits for member countries. Nations seeking to spend their way out of a crisis would instead implement a set of economic policies such as budget cuts and tax increases. But critics say the policy, known as austerity, won't work.

This year's steady slowdown in U.S. inflation likely continued in November, though the latest data may also point to steadily higher prices in some areas of the economy.

Tuesday's inflation report from the Labor Department is expected to show that businesses kept overall prices unchanged for a second straight month.

World shares mostly gained on Monday at the start of a week that includes vital U.S. inflation data and the Federal Reserve's final rate decision of the year.

Germany's DAX was virtually unchanged, at 16,757.43, and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.2% to 7,537.72. In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 7,526.38.