Swedish clothing retailer Hennes et Mauritz (H&M) on Wednesday posted first quarter profits down almost 30 percent on a strong dollar and mild weather hitting its winter collection.

The Stockholm-based fast fashion firm said December through February profits came in at 2.54 billion kronor (275 million euros/$310 million), down from 3.61 billion a year earlier albeit slightly ahead of analysts' forecasts.

Shares in Air France-KLM went into freefall on Wednesday, a day after the company said Alexandre de Juniac is to resign as chairman and CEO to take charge of aviation industry group IATA.

Juniac helped Europe's second biggest airline group return to profit last year for the first time since 2008, but his four-year spell at the helm was also marked by acrimonious relations with pilots.

Oil prices climbed in Asia Wednesday after Kuwait said an agreement to freeze output during a producers' meeting this month could still be reached despite conflicting statements by participants.

But analysts said the rebound would not likely last owing to a painful supply glut and weak demand caused by the slowing world economy.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri sponsored Tuesday afternoon the launching of a campaign to support the program “Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Deprivation in Lebanon -- Afaal”, the draft law submitted by MP Robert Fadel to Parliament.

The CEO of Credit Suisse said Tuesday the bank does not endorse offshore accounts for tax avoidance or shady dealings, the latest bank to defend itself against accusations made in the Panama Papers leak.

The scandal erupted on Sunday when media groups began revealing the results of a year-long investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specialises in creating offshore shell companies.

Global economic recovery is still "too slow" and "too fragile" in the face of growing risks from a slowdown in China and subdued growth in developing economies, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said Tuesday.

"The good news is that the recovery continues; we have growth; we are not in crisis," Lagarde said in a speech in Frankfurt. 

India's central bank on Tuesday cut its key interest rate to a five-year low of 6.5 percent citing a dip in inflation, and signaled there could be further rate cuts to come.

In a widely expected move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it would lower the benchmark repo rate, the level at which it lends to commercial banks, by 25 basis points down from 6.75 percent. 

Australia's central bank Tuesday held interest rates at a record low but indicated it could cut them in the future as recent strength in the domestic currency threatens to derail economic growth.

The economy's bumpy transition away from resource-based growth after an unprecedented surge in mining investment has been hurt by a slowdown in China, its largest trading partner, and plunging commodity prices.

The yen pushed towards an 18-month high against the dollar Tuesday as investors seek refuge from an equity market sell-off and expectations of a near-term U.S. interest rate hike fade.

Strong U.S. jobs and manufacturing data last week were not enough to fire up the greenback after the Federal Reserve's earlier comments that borrowing costs would remain unchanged until the second half of the year.

Israel has authorized another 500 Jordanians to work in hotels in its  Red Sea resort of Eilat to make up for a domestic labor shortage, the tourism ministry said Monday.