World shares rose Monday as investors took heart from reports that show inflation is abating, which might enable the Federal Reserve to back away from interest rate hikes.

U.S. futures were mixed and oil prices edged higher.

Thousands of hotel workers in Southern California have walked off the job demanding higher pay and better benefits in what the union is calling the largest strike in its history.

Cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen and front desk agents at hotels were picketing outside major hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties just as the summer tourist is ramping up.

Saudi Arabia announced on Monday it was extending a voluntary oil production cut of one million barrels per day, in a bid to prop up slumping prices.

The cut which first took effect for July will continue in August and "can be extended", the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, citing an energy ministry source.

France has charged a former assistant of Riad Salameh, the governor of Lebanon's central bank and a subject of judicial probes at home and abroad, with money laundering.

Without reforms, Lebanon will continue to see triple-digit inflation, and public debt in the small, crisis-ridden country could reach nearly 550% of GDP by 2027, the International Monetary Fund warned in a report.

The report came as a follow-up to a nine-day visit by IMF officials in March.

Japan announced a decision Tuesday to reinstate South Korea as a preferred nation with fast-track trade status starting July 21, virtually ending a four-year economic row that was further strained during their bitter historic disputes.

Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters that Japan and South Korea have also agreed to set up a framework to review and follow up on the systems as needed.

Farmers markets gave people something they desperately sought during the pandemic: A place to shop outdoors, and at the same time support smaller, often local businesses.

The markets are now building on that goodwill as the customers that became regulars and the vendors who set up shop in 2021 and 2022 return for the new season. Back in 2020, the markets were deemed non-essential and had been forced to close. Small vendors ranging from farm stands to dog treat makers say the markets offer them access to customers and a connection to the community.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned Tuesday that inflation is holding its grip on the economy and underlined that the bank intends to raise rates high enough to "break this persistence."

Lagarde acknowledged that inflation has fallen from all-time highs last year as energy prices plunged and the bank rolled out a rapid series of rate increases, which are meant to fight price spikes by making it more expensive for consumers and businesses to borrow and spend.

Former Audi boss Rupert Stadler was convicted of fraud Tuesday in connection with the automaker's diesel emissions scandal, making him the highest-ranking executive found guilty over cars that cheated on emissions tests with the help of illegal software.

A German court handed Stadler a suspended prison sentence of 21 months and ordered him to pay a fine of 1.1 million euros ($1.2 million), some of which will go to charitable groups. The sentence resulted from an agreement between his lawyers, the judge and prosecutors after he pleaded guilty last month.

U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Richard Michaels has celebrated the successful implementation of the “Business Innovation and Enhance Exports in Lebanon (BIEEL)” at a closing event in the presence of Fair Trade Lebanon President Sami Abdel Malak, Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Louis Lahoud representatives from the industrialist association, chambers of commerce and the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) team, MEPI Coordinator David Lewis and MEPI Program Manager Maya Barhouche, SMEs and local enterprises.

"MEPI, through the $2.5 million BIEEL project implemented by Fair Trade Lebanon, helped 100 Lebanese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and cooperatives produce and promote Fair Trade Certified products, and provide access to international export markets," the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said in a statement.