China's yuan has overtaken the Japanese yen and moved into fourth place among the world's payments currencies, global transactions organisation SWIFT said Tuesday, as Beijing pushes greater international use of its currency. 

The yuan -- also known as the renminbi -- held a 2.79 percent share in world payments based on value in August, SWIFT said in a statement, besting the yen's 2.76 percent. The yen's position eroded to fifth place. 

French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday scenes of Air France executives fleeing an angry mob after having their shirts ripped off by striking workers were "unacceptable" and put the image of the country at risk.

With the shirt stripped off his back, the struggling airline's human resources manager Xavier Broseta had to escape over a fence with the help of security guards on Monday after announcing plans to cut 2,900 jobs.

Asian members of the newly-minted Trans-Pacific Partnership Tuesday hailed the deal to create the world's largest free trade area, with Japan calling it the start of a "new century" for the region.

Delegates from 12 Pacific Rim nations finally managed to hammer out an agreement in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday -- five years after the U.S.-led talks first began. 

Eurozone economic activity slowed more than first thought in September, a key business survey showed on Monday, adding to concerns over the outlook.

Data monitoring company Markit said its revised September Purchasing Managers Index fell to 53.6 points, compared with a first reading of 53.9 points.

Britain will sell another £2.0 billion of shares in state-rescued Lloyds bank to the public, the government said Monday.

The Treasury will offload Lloyds shares worth $3.0 billion or 2.7 billion euros in spring 2016, and will exit its holding "in the coming months", it said in a statement.

Air France-KLM is set to unveil details on Monday of a revamped restructuring plan which unions expect will lead to some 3,000 job losses.

Four unions have called a strike to coincide with the expected launch of the plan due to be presented to the central company enterprise committee at 9:30 am (0730 GMT).

The World Bank on Monday cut its growth forecasts for developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific but allayed fears of a hard landing for China's slowing economy.

The bank also said it expects any increase in U.S. interest rates to have an orderly impact but warned of a risk that markets could react sharply, causing currencies to depreciate further in the region.

Several engineers at scandal-hit German automaker Volkswagen have admitted to installing the device in the company's cars aimed at cheating pollution tests, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Bild am Sonntag said the employees told an internal investigation that they had been involved in the affair, which came to light last month.

Embattled auto giant Volkswagen on Saturday suspended the sale of some diesel-powered cars in Australia as the fallout from its emissions-cheating software expanded.

Volkswagen Group Australia (VGA) said it met with government authorities on Friday "to advise them of its strategy in Australia" to address concerns raised around the world about the technology.

A deal on an ambitious Pacific Rim free-trade area appeared within reach late Friday as negotiators kept pushing to resolve the remaining issues over drug patents and auto and dairy trade.

The arrival of senior U.S. congressional aides at the hotel venue for the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks in Atlanta pointed to the possibility that top trade officials from 12 countries were close to agreement.