Argentina’s economy minister was in New York for last-ditch talks hours before a deadline Wednesday that could plunge the country into a new default, its second in 13 years.

Buenos Aires has until the end of the day to resolve its dispute with so-called "holdout" hedge funds whose refusal to accept a write-down on debt it defaulted on in 2001 has pushed Latin America's third-largest economy to the brink of a new default.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos met Tuesday with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, calling for accelerated bilateral trade talks and more investment by the Asian economic powerhouse.

Argentina voiced hope Tuesday for a last minute solution to stave off a default on its debt in one day's time, but repeated its unwillingness to budge in negotiations with creditors.

Buenos Aires has until midnight Wednesday to resolve its dispute with the so-called "holdout" hedge funds, whose refusal to accept a write-down on the debt it defaulted on in 2001 has pushed South America's third-largest economy to the brink of its second default in 13 years.

Airbus on Tuesday said it has cancelled a $2.2 billion deal with Skymark Airlines for the purchase of six A380 superjumbos, reportedly over concerns about payment.

The Airbus announcement came hours after Skymark said it was locked in "difficult" talks with the European aircraft manufacturer about its 2011 order, which had marked a big victory for the firm in a market long monopolised by rival Boeing.

French car giant Renault on Tuesday reported first-half net profits nearly 20 times better than during the slump of last year as European sales offset weaker growth in emerging markets.

Renault reported net profits of 749 million euros ($1 billion) in the first six months of the year, compared to a meager 39 million euros it achieved in the first half of 2013 when its figures were hit by the ending of its business in Iran.

Oil giant BP warned on Tuesday that more sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis could "adversely impact" its activities, and posted a quarterly profit leap aided by its stake in Rosneft.

BP said that it had been unaffected so far by U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia, reporting a two-thirds boost to second-quarter net profits from the equivalent figure last year.

Interest on Spanish and Italian debt fell to record low on Monday while Portugal's continued to drop as investor concerns about the eurozone's former laggards eased.

Borrowing costs for southern European countries have fallen since the European Central Bank brought in unprecedented measures in June to help boost weak inflation in the bloc.

U.S. President Barack Obama warned Monday that the future stability of the world depends on African nations achieving prosperity and self-reliance, in an address to youth leaders from the continent.

"The security and prosperity and justice that we seek in the world cannot be achieved without a strong and prosperous and self-reliant Africa," he said, kicking off a major African diplomatic push.

Russia could soon block some fruit imports from the EU and chickens from the United States, reports said Monday, as Brussels considered slapping tighter sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

An adviser to the chief of Russia's food and agricultural inspection service Rosselkhoznadzor said oriental fruit moths had been detected in some European imports.

South African striking engineering and metals workers have accepted an improved wage offer to end the country's largest-ever labor stoppage, their union said Monday.

Representatives for the roughly 200,000 workers who downed tools on July 1 said the lowest-paid worker will get a 10 percent pay increase each year for the next three years.