Argentina was in default Thursday for the second time in 13 years after the failure of last ditch talks with U.S. hedge funds it has branded "vultures."

Hundreds of angry protesters took to the streets across several Yemeni cities on Wednesday as a government decision to raise fuel prices in the impoverished country came into effect.

Spain's economy grew by a better-than-expected 0.6 percent in the second quarter compared with the previous three months, the fastest rate since 2007 and more evidence of the country's recovery from recession.

In provisional estimates released Wednesday, the National Statistics Institute says the economy grew by 1.2 percent over 12 months, following four consecutive quarters of expansion.

Japanese videogames giant Nintendo on Wednesday posted a $97 million quarterly net loss, as higher costs tied to sales of its Wii U console dug into its bottom line as sales weakened.

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.