Singapore public transport operator SMRT said Monday it has decided not to make a bid for Addison Lee, London's biggest minicab firm.

China's exports and imports both rose more than expected in September, Customs data showed Monday in a positive signal for the world's second-largest economy, but analysts warned that fundamentals remained weak.

The country's trade surplus more than doubled year-on-year to $31.0 billion as exports rose 15.3 percent to $213.7 billion, the General Administration of Customs announced, while imports climbed 7.0 percent to $182.7 billion.

Chinese authorities are urging officials who have fled abroad to avoid corruption charges to turn themselves in before Dec. 1 in exchange for leniency or face stiffer punishment.

Corruption is rampant in China, and a large number of government officials and executives of state-owned companies have absconded overseas for safer havens of their ill-gained wealth because China lacks extradition treaties.

Multinational companies from Argentina, France and Germany are competing to buy 14 Greek airports put up for sale to boost Athens' depleted cash reserves, its privatization agency said on Friday. 

Argentina's Corporacion America, France's Vinci and Germany's Fraport have all placed fixed bids for the airports, which are being auctioned in two lots. 

The world's economic policy elite kept up pressure on the eurozone Friday to fight off stagnation, with Germany under the gun to support more spending to spark growth.

But Berlin continued to fend off pressure to allow a loosening of budget constraints across the struggling euro area, saying it would be "foolish" to sacrifice the gains made in improving government finances.

The founder of virtual currency firm Liberty Reserve, Arthur Budovsky, was extradited Friday from Spain to face U.S. criminal charges for operating what officials called a massive money-laundering scheme.

Budovsky, a 40-year-old Costa Rican national and former U.S. citizen, will be tried in the U.S. on charges related to setting up the alternative digital currency used by criminals around the world to launder illegal profits, federal prosecutors said.

Wall Street stocks suffered one of the worst weeks of 2014 as global growth fears overwhelmed some positive economic news and pushed the Dow into negative territory for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 465.59 points (2.74 percent) at 16,544.10, leaving the index about 30 points below the closing level of 2013.

Oil cartel OPEC kept its world oil demand growth projections unchanged for 2014 and 2015 on Friday, as global economy forecasts remained stable going into next year.

The estimates were issued as the price of oil continues to fall because of gloomy sentiment on the market about prospects for economic growth, notably in the eurozone.

Two of Malaysia's largest financial institutions, CIMB Group and RHB Capital, said they plan to merge along with a property lending firm to create a "financial powerhouse" that will become the country's biggest bank. 

The three institutions are seeking central bank approval for the merger, according to documents submitted Thursday with Malaysia's stock exchange, and aim to sign a definitive agreement early next year.

The International Monetary Fund stepped up its warnings over a possible eurozone recession Thursday, pressing governments like Germany to spend more for reverse a stall.

Worries about the eurozone stagnating were at the forefront as the annual IMF-World Bank meetings on the global economy kicked off.