Government and business leaders and investors, mainly from Arab nations, gathered Tuesday at the Beirut Seaside Arena in an investor conference organized by the Lebanese government.

The conference brings together the private sector, the Lebanese diaspora, and international partners, as the country tries to rebuild itself after an unprecedented economic crisis and a war with Israel that did not completely stop despite a ceasefire reached in November last year.

After two years of robust growth fueled by military spending on the war in Ukraine, Russia's economy is slowing. Oil revenues are down, the budget deficit is up and defense spending has leveled off.

The Kremlin needs money to keep its finances steady — and it's clear where President Vladimir Putin intends to get it: at the cash register, from ordinary people and small businesses.

Trading on Wall Street was quietly mixed on Monday at the outset of a week likely to be focused on an earnings report by chipmaker Nvidia and the first government employment data release in more than six weeks.

Futures for the S&P 500 the Dow Jones Industrial Average each edged less than 0.1% lower, while Nasdaq futures inched up less than 0.1% before the opening bell.

Japan's economy contracted at a 1.8% annual pace in July-September as President Donald Trump's tariffs hit exports and private residential investment plunged.

Data released by the government Monday showed that on a quarter-by-quarter basis, Japan's gross domestic product, the sum value of its goods and services, slipped 0.4%, the first contraction in six quarters.

The biennial Dubai Air Show opened on Monday with hometown airline Emirates ordering 65 of Boeing's upcoming 777-9 aircraft, as the carrier looks to increase its fleets off record earnings and unending demand for flights through this East-West travel hub.

Emirates valued the deal with Boeing and GE Engines at $38 billion at list prices, although airlines often negotiate lower prices in major orders.

The Trump administration said Thursday that it had reached trade frameworks with Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala.

The frameworks are about increasing the ability of U.S. firms to sell industrial and agricultural products in these countries, according to a senior administration official who insisted on anonymity as a condition for briefing reporters on a call about the agreements.

World shares skidded Friday following Wall Street's latest retreat due to worries over AI and interest rates.

The future for S&P 500 was down 0.3% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.2%, while oil prices advanced.

Hungary will challenge the European Union's plan to end Russian energy imports and take the case to an EU court, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday.

Speaking on state radio, Orbán accused the bloc of trying to sidestep his veto power over sanctions on Russian energy by using trade rules instead in its plan to phase out all imports of Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027.

Lebanon's central bank announced on Friday that money changers and transfer companies must comply with stricter rules as the country faces heavy U.S. pressure to regulate its cash economy and cut off Hezbollah funding.

Germany's governing coalition agreed to subsidize energy prices for heavy industry over the next three years as it tries to breathe new life into a stubbornly slow economy that is weighing on Europe's performance.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he and other coalition leaders agreed Thursday evening to introduce an electricity price of about 5 euro cents (6 U.S. cents) per kilowatt hour starting Jan. 1, through 2028, to "support companies that use a lot of electricity and face international competition."