China's economy expanded at a slower-than-forecast 4.7% annual rate in the last quarter, the government reported Monday, while emphasizing signs of improvement in factory output, income and investment.

The expansion was sharply below the 5.3% annual pace of growth seen in the first quarter of the year.

Thailand's prime minister said Monday that eligible businesses and individuals can register from August for digital cash handouts, a controversial program that will cost billions of dollars and is meant to boost the lagging economy.

The government announced in April the widely criticized ambitious plan, named the "Digital Wallet," meant to give 10,000 baht (about $275) to 50 million citizens in digital money to spend at local businesses.

Wall Street is essentially flat before the opening bell as quarterly earnings from banks and new inflation data pulled markets in different directions.

Futures for the S&P 500 were unchanged before the bell Friday while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up less than 0.1%.

Under the sweltering Turkish sun, tourists wander through sets that recreate Ottoman and Byzantine-era castles, take selfies with actors in traditional Ottoman costumes and watch horseback stunt performances. Among them is Riia Toivanen, 22, a devoted fan of Turkish television drama who traveled to Istanbul from Finland with her mother to delve into the realm of her beloved shows.

Some 8,000 miles (12,800 kilometers) across the globe in Villa Carlos Paz in Argentina, 66-year-old retired teacher Raquel Greco watches an episode of a Turkish romantic comedy, surrounded by memorabilia from her once-in-a-lifetime trip to Istanbul where she visited landmarks she knew from years of watching Turkish shows.

China's exports beat forecasts in June, customs data showed Friday, while imports grew less than expected.

Exports grew 8.6% from the same time last year to hit $307.8 billion, according to data released by Chinese customs, beating estimates of about 7.4% to 8% growth. Imports however fell 2.3% from a year earlier to $208.8 billion.

Wholesale prices in the United States rose by a larger-than-expected 2.6% last month from a year earlier, a sign that some inflation pressures remain high.

The increase, the sharpest year-over-year increase since March 2023, comes at a time when other price indicators are showing that inflation has continued to ease.

British Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell hosted Thursday a Business and Trade reception to celebrate record-breaking bilateral trade figures between the UK and Lebanon.

In 2023, bilateral trade figures between the UK and Lebanon passed the £1bn mark for the first time ever, reaching a record high of £1.1 billion, an increase on over 45% on 2022. Export brands increased to £160 million. The top five goods exported by the UK to Lebanon throughout 2023 were mechanical power generators, cars, beverages, dairy products, and medicinal and pharmaceutical products. Services accounted for over £600m.

The IRS announced Thursday that it has collected $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth tax cheats — a milestone meant to showcase how the U.S. agency is making use of the money it received as part of the Biden administration's signature climate, health care, and tax package signed into law in 2022.

Part of the push for public awareness of high-wealth tax collections is a growing recognition by agency officials that a potential Republican takeover of the White House and Congress could mean massive future budget cuts for the IRS. Showing the public how much work the IRS is getting done is meant to give the much-maligned agency a more sympathetic image.

The Biden administration is awarding nearly $2 billion in grants to help restart or expand electric vehicle manufacturing and assembly sites in eight states, including the presidential battlegrounds of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

The Energy Department will issue grants totaling $1.7 billion to create or retain thousands of union jobs and support auto-based communities that have long driven the U.S. economy, the White House said Thursday. Besides the three battleground states, grants also will go to EV facilities in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and Virginia.

Germany will bar the use of components made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from core parts of the country's 5G networks, in two steps starting in 2026, the nation's top security official said Thursday.

Germany, which has Europe's biggest economy, has long mulled what to do about components made by Chinese suppliers in its new-generation cellphone networks.