Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is set to create a $2.7 billion entertainment investment company, state media said Wednesday, as the ultra-conservative kingdom opens up avenues for leisure.

German heavy industry giant ThyssenKrupp and Indian group Tata agreed Wednesday to merge their steel operations in Europe, taking second place in the continent's market behind ArcelorMittal.

Banking regulators in Beijing and Shanghai have ordered local cryptocurrency exchanges to shut down, state media reported Tuesday, in the latest blow to the once flourishing Chinese market for virtual money.

Saudi Arabia has raised $1.87 billion in a new Islamic bond issue as the kingdom bids to finance a budget deficit resulting from low oil prices.

Europe's stock markets wobbled at the open on Tuesday, the eve of an interest rate decision from the US Federal Reserve.

Pummelled by political unrest and jihadist attacks, Egypt's tourism industry is slowly growing again, but too slowly for thousands of bazaar workers who fondly recall when tourists thronged their stores.

Wall Street stocks opened the week at fresh highs on Monday as investors built on Friday's record closes following a weekend of geopolitical calm on the Korean peninsula.

The strong open came ahead of Tuesday's start of a meeting of the Federal Reserve, with investors waiting to learn central bank chief Janet Yellen's views on inflation and to glean hints about the timing of the next interest rate hike.

General Motors will recall more than 2.5 million vehicles in China over concerns about airbags made by troubled Japanese giant Takata, Chinese authorities said, dealing a blow to the U.S. automaker in the world's largest car market.

Inflation in the eurozone will slump in early 2018, the European Central Bank forecast Monday, but return to an upward path towards its target later in the year.

Asian markets posted healthy gains on Monday following another record finish on Wall Street, as the focus shifts to the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting later in the week.