Stock markets mostly rose Friday but gains were limited as US lawmakers struggled to hammer out a fresh economic rescue package, while investors were largely unmoved by the last presidential debate before next month's election.

Long-time Iraqi civil servant Qusay Abdul-Amma panicked when his monthly salary was delayed. Days of waiting turned to weeks. He defaulted on rent and other bills.

The U.S. housing market continued its boom in September as existing homes sales grew 9.4 percent from the month before, a survey released Thursday said.

The 6.54 million seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) was above expectations and 21 percent higher than the same month in 2019, with low interest rates and the upheavals of the coronavirus pandemic fueling a surge in home-buying.

The UK government on Thursday improved its new jobs-support scheme after businesses hit by regional coronavirus lockdowns claimed it did not go far enough.

Global stock markets were steady Thursday following sharp losses the previous session, with investors spooked by a sharp rise in coronavirus cases and continued uncertainty over a pre-election stimulus package in Washington.

Asian markets retreated Thursday as the chances of a pre-election stimulus package from Washington dimmed, with Democrats and Republicans struggling to bridge their differences.

Britain said Wednesday it was resuming trade negotiations with the European Union, accelerating the fraught process to round-the-clock meetings in a bid to salvage a deal within weeks.

Iraq's Kurdish region has for decades lived off its oil wealth, but plummeting energy prices amid the pandemic and financial mismanagement are forcing locals to return to long abandoned farms.

The U.S. government sued Google Tuesday, accusing the Silicon Valley titan of maintaining an "illegal monopoly" in online search and advertising, in the country's biggest antitrust case in decades, opening up the door to a potential breakup of the company.

Tesla will this month begin exporting cars to Europe that are made at its new factory in Shanghai, the fast-growing U.S. electric carmaker has announced.