Unemployment in France hit a new record in September, with official statistics published Friday showing 3.43 million people claimed jobless benefits.

The figures showed a rise of 19,200 people joining the jobless queue and come as President Francois Hollande marks the midway point in his troubled mandate.

The International Monetary Fund on Friday announced a minimum interest rate on its unique SDR currency as it fights off the impact of sagging interest rates and deflation from major economies.

The IMF said that from Monday it would maintain a floor rate of 0.05 percent, or five basis points, on its special drawing rights or SDR currency, which represents a basket of the currencies of its largest members.

Momentum is building towards a pan-Pacific trade agreement, representatives of Australia and the United States said Saturday as talks between trade ministers began in Sydney.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would encompass 40 percent of the global economy and include 12 nations, has been the subject of negotiations for years.

French carmaker Renault chairman, Carlos Ghosn, said Saturday that he expects slower growth in Europe's auto market next year as it continues to recover from the global economic crisis.

Ghosn, who is also Renault's chief executive officer, said the European market was growing at six percent so far this year -- the best since the 2007 crisis.

Growth of the British economy slowed in the third quarter of this year, official data showed on Friday in a context of concerns over the uncertain global outlook.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.7 percent between July and September from output in the previous three months, the Office for National Statistics said in an initial estimate.

Russia's ruble slumped to a new all-time low on Friday as the economic fall-out from the Ukraine crisis and lower oil prices caused the finance minister to call for a "back-up" 2015-2017 budget.

For the first time it took more than 53 rubles to buy one euro, and the rate against the dollar topped 41.92 with speculation swirling that Standard and Poor's could cut its rating for Russia to a "speculative" level.

Consumer confidence in Germany has stopped falling, as households appear to be no longer fazed by concerns about the economic fallout from geopolitical crises, a new poll found on Friday.

Following the recent declines, "consumer sentiment rose again somewhat in October and the downward trend has come to an end," market research company GfK said in a statement.

China and 21 other Asian nations signed on Friday to a new Beijing-backed international bank for Asia that Washington opposes as an unnecessary rival to established institutions such as the World Bank.

Representatives of the 22 nations signed a memorandum of understanding at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing to establish the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Spain's unemployment rate dropped to 23.7 percent in the third quarter from 24.5 percent in the previous three-month period thanks to a recovering economy and a bumper summer tourism season, official statistics showed Thursday.

The number of jobless people fell by 195,200 July through September, leaving the total number of unemployed at a rounded 5.4 million, Spain's statistics institute said. That's down from 5.6 million in the second quarter.

Business activity in the 18-nation eurozone strengthened slightly in October, a key survey showed Thursday, but overall the economy remained weak with new orders low and pressure on prices.

Markit Economics said its Composite Purchasing Managers Output Index (PMI) rose marginally to 52.2 points in October from a 10-month low of 52.0 points in September.