The attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels have scared off some of the world's top shipping companies and oil giants, effectively rerouting global trade away from a crucial artery for consumer goods and energy supplies that is expected to trigger delays and rising prices.

BP said Monday that it has "decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea," including shipments of oil, liquid natural gas and other energy supplies. Describing it as a "precautionary pause," the London-based oil and gas corporation said the decision faces ongoing review but crew safety was the priority.

Kenya and the European Union on Monday signed a long-negotiated trade agreement to increase the flow of goods between the two markets, as Brussels pursues stronger economic ties with Africa.

German farmers gathered in Berlin on Monday to protest against planned cuts to tax breaks for diesel used in agriculture, part of a deal reached by the government to plug a hole in the country's budget.

Leaders of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition last week agreed on measures to fill a 17 billion-euro ($18.5 billion) hole in next year's budget, saying they would achieve that by reducing climate-damaging subsidies and slightly reducing some ministries' spending, among other measures.

World shares were mostly lower on Monday, while U.S. futures and oil prices edged higher.

Germany's DAX slipped 0.3% to 16,699.58 and in Paris, the CAC40 fell 0.5% to 4,066.69. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 7,592.11.

Germany's economy is likely to shrink again slightly in the current fourth quarter, the country's central bank said Monday, while a survey showed business confidence retreating unexpectedly.

Europe's biggest economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter after growing by the same amount in the previous three-month period, according to official figures.

German airline group Lufthansa resumed its flights to and from Beirut on Friday after they were suspended on October 13 as tensions on Lebanon's border with Israel soared and the war in Gaza raged.

Lufthansa's subsidiaries SWISS and Eurowings also resumed their flights, the group said.

Germany's parliament on Friday approved plans to raise the country's levy on carbon dioxide emissions from fuel by more than previously planned next month, a move that is part of a deal to resolve a budget crisis.

The CO2 price will rise to 45 euros (about $49) per ton of emissions from the current 30 euros under the plan approved by lawmakers. The government had previously planned a smaller increase to 40 euros. That is expected to impact prices for gasoline, diesel, natural gas and heating oil.

World markets powered higher on Friday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to another record close on excitement that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates several times next year.

Germany's DAX advanced 0.6% to 16,849.10 and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4% at 7,604.01. Britain's FTSE 100 edged less than 0.1% higher, to 7,650.99.

Amazon won't have to pay about 250 million euros ($273 million) in back taxes after European Union judges ruled in favor of the U.S. e-commerce giant, dealing a defeat to the 27-nation bloc in its efforts to tackle corporate tax avoidance.

The ruling by the EU's top court is final, ending the long-running legal battle over tax arrangements between Amazon and Luxembourg's government and marking a further setback for a crackdown by antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager.

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.