Asian shares rose Tuesday, with energy firms clawing back some losses as oil prices recovered from multi-year lows, while Shanghai surged to a three-year high on hopes for more Chinese government easing.

The Russian ruble strengthened slightly against the dollar after suffering its worst one-day fall in 16 years, battered by falling crude prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine.

The beleaguered ruble hit new record lows on Monday after oil prices sank further amid spreading worries about Russia's economy.

The Russian currency fell for a third day in a row, slumping to over 52 rubles against the dollar and 65 rubles against the euro in afternoon trading on the Moscow Exchange.

Cyprus's shell-shocked economy will exit recession in 2015 as the island’s recovery from the near collapse of its banks gathers pace, the central bank chief said on Monday.

"My optimism for this is based on the fact that so far we have experienced progress towards exiting the crisis at a faster pace with more positive results than initially forecast," Chrystalla Georghadji told a parliamentary committee.

Former Polish premier Donald Tusk took over as European Council president Monday promising "ruthless determination" to revive the economy and to defend the EU against both external and internal threats.

Tusk -- the first person from the former Soviet-dominated east to take a top EU role, at a time of tension with Russia -- told a handover ceremony with his predecessor Herman Van Rompuy that the bloc faced a challenge from "enemies".

Moody's downgraded its credit rating for Japan on Monday, citing "rising uncertainty" over the country's debt situation and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's faltering efforts to kickstart growth.

The ratings agency said it cut Japan's rating by one notch to A1 from Aa3, just two weeks before an election and after the economy sank into recession during the July-September quarter.

Oil tumbled to new multi-year lows in Asia on Monday, extending a sharp sell-off last week in response to OPEC's decision to maintain output despite a supply glut and plunging prices.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery dipped $1.65 in afternoon Asian trading to $64.50, its lowest intraday level since July 2009.

Gulf Arab stocks plunged Sunday on their first trading day since OPEC decided to maintain oil output in a move that sent crude prices crashing to five-year lows, analysts said.

Barack Obama showed some presidential support for small businesses on Saturday, when he stopped at a local Washington bookstore for a spot of holiday shopping.

His visit to the Politics and Prose independent bookstore came on "Small Business Saturday" -- a growing movement that encourages shoppers to support local merchants.

Leading gold buyer India has announced it has eased controls on imports of the yellow metal after its current account deficit narrowed sharply.

India, the world's second-biggest gold buyer after China, imposed the import restrictions last year to avert a trade deficit crisis that pushed the rupee to record lows.

Striken Malaysia Airlines apologized Saturday for a year-end promotion tweet that sparked anger on Twitter after it inadvertently drew parallels with the still-missing MH370 flight.

"Want to go somewhere but don't know where?" read the post on Twitter that was meant to promote special deals by the national carrier, prompting scorn from online users.