Japan's economy slipped into recession for the second time since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to power nearly three years ago, data showed Monday, dealing a fresh blow to his drive to kickstart weak growth and end years of deflation.

Abe has staked his reputation on a policy blitz of fiscal spending, aggressive monetary policy easing and structural reforms -- dubbed Abenomics -- aimed at reviving the world's third-largest economy

Oil prices climbed in Asia Monday on geopolitical tensions sparked by the deadly terror attacks in Paris but analysts said a global crude supply glut is likely to restrict any gains.

French warplanes pounded the Islamic State group's de facto capital in Syria on Sunday in retaliation for the carnage in the French capital claimed by the jihadists, sparking fears of escalating tensions in the oil-producing but politically volatile Middle East.

Greece and its creditors have agreed on "many" of the issues that had to be resolved for Athens to receive more bailout funds but will hold more talks in the coming days, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Sunday.

Dijsselbloem tweeted "good progress in (the) talks," adding the two sides had reached "agreement on many issues" ahead of more talks on Tuesday.

Nigeria finally has a government after a wait of more than five months but the new ministers have their work cut out to reverse a damaging slump in Africa's leading economy.

Falling global oil prices have shrunk government revenues and slowed growth to a near standstill, while the naira currency is weak, inflation high and unemployment causing widespread concern.

China on Saturday welcomed backing from IMF experts that the yuan should be included in its reserve currencies, saying the move would strengthen the world's financial system.

Now the world's second-largest economy, China asked last year for the yuan to be added to the elite basket of SDR currencies, but until recently it was considered too tightly controlled to qualify.

The agricultural sector can act as "a bridge" between Cuba and its old Cold War foe the United States, a visiting top U.S. official said Friday.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is the third member of President Barack Obama's cabinet to visit the communist-run island after Secretary of State John Kerry and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.

The United States fined French energy and transport giant Alstom SA $772 million for bribing government officials in Indonesia, Egypt and several other countries to win business, the US Justice Department said Friday.

Alstom pleaded guilty nearly a year ago to two criminal counts related to bribery and corruption under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Growth in the 19-nation eurozone slowed to 0.3 percent in the third quarter, official data showed on Friday, with the economy in powerhouse Germany cooling as France returned to expansion.

The quarterly growth was below the analyst estimate of 0.4 percent for the period and will fuel speculation the European Central Bank will expand its vast stimulus program next month.

Beijing will back Pakistan to ensure the security of a new special economic corridor providing access to the port of Gwadar that aims to create direct links between China and the Arabian Sea, a top Chinese general has pledged. 

Fan Changlong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, told Pakistan army head Raheel Sharif on Thursday that Beijing looked forward to close cooperation "to ensure proper management and security of CPEC," according to a Pakistan military statement.

Economic growth in European powerhouse Germany slowed slightly in the third quarter, preliminary data showed Friday, as it braved headwinds from China's economy and the Volkswagen pollution scandal.

Europe's largest economy expanded by 0.3 percent in the July-September period on a quarterly basis, the federal statistics office said. That compared to growth of 0.4 percent in the previous quarter.