French oil giant TotalEnergies has informed Lebanon’s Energy Ministry and the Lebanese Petroleum Administration that no gas was found in the first well that was drilled in Lebanon’s offshore Block 9, a media report said.

“Drilling in the well in Block 9 ended after only water was found at a depth of 3,900 meters, and accordingly there is no use from continuing the drilling to a depth of 4,200 meters,” LBCI television reported.

Measures of U.S. inflation in September showed that the pace of price increases is still grinding lower, though at a slow and uneven pace.

Prices in the United States increased 0.4% from August to September, a slowdown from the previous month. Thursday's report from the Labor Department also showed that annual consumer inflation in September was unchanged from a 3.7% rise in August.

The world economy has lost momentum from the impact of higher interest rates, the invasion of Ukraine and widening geopolitical rifts, and it now faces new uncertainty from the war between Israel and Hamas militants, International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday.

The IMF said it expects global economic growth to slow to 2.9% in 2024 from an expected 3% this year. The forecast for next year is down a notch from the 3% it predicted back in July.

Less than a two-hour drive from where families sleep in tents and earthquake rubble remain in piles, the world's most powerful financial institutions are gathering for a week of discussions on economic challenges during times of war, inequality and climate change.

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank decided in 2018 to host their annual meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, bringing the affair to the African continent for the first time in 50 years.

Crude oil prices surged and world share prices were mostly lower on Monday after the Israeli government declared war following deadly attacks by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

U.S. futures declined. The bond market in the U.S. will be closed Monday for the Columbus Day holiday, but the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will be open.

Taiwan authorities are investigating four Taiwan-based companies suspected of helping China's Huawei Technologies to build semiconductor facilities.

Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua said Friday that the investigation will determine if the companies have violated regulations prohibiting sales of sensitive technologies and equipment to China.

Luxembourg's residents may be classified as the wealthiest in the European Union, but the sky-high cost of buying or renting a home in the country has made living there nearly impossible for some.

The crisis has become the number one concern in the Grand Duchy of 660,000 people -- smaller than Rhode Island, the smallest U.S. state -- as it goes to the polls on Sunday.

Global sugar prices soared to their highest level in almost 13 years in September as the El Nino weather phenomenon hit production in India and Thailand, the Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.

The ruble fell further against the dollar on Friday, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the sanctions-hit country's economic situation was "stable".

The Russian currency fell by as much as 101.46 rubles to the dollar in morning exchanges before paring down some losses.

Global shares advanced Thursday after a plunge in oil prices aided a recovery on Wall Street.

France's CAC 40 lost 0.3% to 6,976.60. Germany's DAX shed 0.2% to 15,222.00, and Britain's FTSE 100 was unchanged at 7,414.46. The futures for the S&P 500 and Dow industrials were 0.3% lower.