Thailand dodged recession as its economy grew 0.9 percent in the second quarter, data showed Monday, after the military ended months of political deadlock with a coup and promised to unshackle state spending.

Between April and June the economy grew 0.9 percent after shrinking a revised 1.9 percent in the first quarter, the National Economic and Social Development Board reported.

A red 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta, said to be one of only a handful, was snapped up for $38.1 million in California, becoming the most expensive car ever sold at auction.

The previous record was held by a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Formula 1 model bought in Britain last year for $30 million.

News that Ukraine had attacked a Russian military convoy that entered its territory sent investors fleeing to the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc on Friday, while the dollar slipped.

The foreign-exchange market reacted in a relatively muted fashion to the spike in geopolitical tensions between the neighboring countries, which had weighed on US and European equity markets and sent oil prices surging higher.

Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International extended its unsolicited offer to buy US Botox maker Allergan on Friday until the end of the year.

The $53.5 billion offer had been due to expire at 5:00 pm (2100 GMT). Valeant said it was now keeping it in play until 5:00 pm on December 31.

Rating agency Fitch on Friday revised Ireland's sovereign credit rating up a notch to 'A-', citing an "employment-led recovery" with a healthier banking system.

Fitch is the second of the big three agencies to pull Ireland's rating up from 'BBB+' to 'A-' and thus higher into investment grade territory.

The EU "shot itself in the foot" by imposing trade sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a radio interview Friday.

The European sanctions over Moscow's perceived role in separatist violence in eastern Ukraine "hurt us more than the Russians," Orban said during his weekly interview spot on state-run radio.

High levels of crime and violence in Papua New Guinea are causing substantial losses to 80 percent of businesses, hampering the nation's economic development, the World Bank said Friday.

A new report, "The Cost of Crime and Violence to Businesses", said security in particular represented a large and growing expense in the often lawless Pacific nation.

Samsung said Friday it had reached a deal to buy a U.S. home automation startup SmartThings, as the South Korean electronics giant aims to expand beyond the increasingly saturated smartphone market.

The world's top smartphone maker said it had entered into a deal to buy the U.S. app maker, which allows people to monitor and control their home appliances via mobile devices. 

The dollar held steady in Asia Friday on easing concerns over the situation in Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an end to the crisis in the violence-wracked country.

In Tokyo afternoon trading, the greenback fetched 102.53 yen, up from 102.45 yen in New York.

Standard & Poor's has cut the credit ratings of three major Austrian banks in response to new legislation winding up the deeply troubled and nationalized lender Hypo Alde Adria.

The ratings were cut by one notch for Erste Group, Raiffeisen Zentralbank and UniCredit of Italy's local unit Bank Austria, S&P said late on Wednesday. The outlook for the ratings is negative.