Argentina will repay $5.9 billion of its debt on Monday in keeping with its repayment schedule, the country's economy minister said Friday.

"We will follow this deadline as we have done for years. It is the largest payment in one installment in a decade," Economy Minister Axel Kicillof said.

The market for military drones is expected to almost double by 2024 to beyond $10 billion (8.9 billion euros), according to a report published Friday by specialist defense publication IHS Jane's Intelligence Review.

"The global defense and security market for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will expand at 5.5 percent per year over this decade, from the current figure of $6.4 billion," according to the analysis.

The global finance summit next week in Lima will try to scatter the clouds over the economy, beset by a slowing China and the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates.

"On the economic front, there is... reason to be concerned," the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, said Wednesday, in a speech ahead of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in the Peruvian capital that gather the world's central bankers and finance ministers. 

France's statistics agency Insee on Friday lowered its forecast for economic growth this year to 1.1 percent from its previous estimate of 1.2 percent due to the "unpleasant surprise" of zero growth in the second quarter.

In the third quarter, Insee has predicted France's gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 0.2 percent, slower than the earlier 0.3 percent forecast, and by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter.

The dollar was little changed against most of its Asia-Pacific peers on Friday as foreign exchange dealers looked ahead to closely watched U.S. employment figures released later in the day.

The exceptions were the Malaysian ringgit and the South Korean won, which both shedded more than half a percent against the dollar as most regional equity markets paused after a two-day rally marking the beginning of the month.

Spending among Japanese households rebounded in August, data showed Friday, offering a glimmer of hope after a string of weak figures, but economists warned the world's number three economy was still headed for recession.

Consumers spent more on cars, household repairs, domestic travel and education costs, boosting monthly spending by 2.9 percent, well above market expectations for a 0.3 percent rise and following a modest decline in July.

Consumer associations in Italy have accused U.S. fast food giant McDonald's of tax evasion.

Three associations said Thursday they have filed a complaint to Italy's financial police about the alleged fraud by the company best known for burgers, chicken McNuggets and fries.

German prosecutors said Thursday that they had not launched a formal inquiry against Martin Winterkorn, the former chief executive of auto giant Volkswagen, contrary to what they originally stated this week.

An official press statement released on Monday by public prosecutors in Brunswick was "formulated incorrectly," a spokesman told Agence France Presse.

Indians declared $500 million in black money, the government announced Thursday, a fraction of the total amount feared hidden, as a deadline for coughing up assets hidden from the taxman expired.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power last year pledging to crack down on black money, a systemic problem in India that sees billions of rupees hidden in foreign bank accounts or funneled into property abroad.

Scout24, a German Internet portal specializing in classified ads websites, said it raised more than one billion euros ($1.1 billion) from its stock market listing Thursday, despite a difficult market environment.

Scout24 said in a statement that the issue price for the placement of 38.4 million shares was set at 30 euros per share, raising a total of 1.16 billion in new funds which would be used to reduce debt and invested in expanding its business.