Qatar has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over an "illegal siege" imposed by its Gulf neighbors, the commerce ministry said Monday.

The gas-rich emirate has been slapped with sanctions and demands after four countries including regional kingpin Saudi Arabia cut ties with it on June 5, accusing Doha of fostering Islamist groups and of links to Riyadh's arch-rival Iran. Qatar denies the allegations.

Dutch brewing giant Heineken on Monday reported a 48.6 percent leap in first half profits, with beer sales boosted by warm weather in Europe and its new zero alcohol brand.

Europe's economic recovery is strengthening with unemployment in the eurozone dropping in June to its lowest since February 2009, according to official figures released on Monday.

Japanese megabank MUFG says Amsterdam and Paris are favorites to be the new European base for its securities operations, officials said Monday, as the firm prepares for Brexit. 

Oil prices surged Monday to build on last week's rally as the dollar clawed back losses following concerns over gridlock in Washington and renewed tensions on the Korean peninsula.  

Both main crude contracts made strong gains, with WTI testing $50 a barrel for the first time since late May and Brent heading towards $53, while mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto saw their share price rise as commodities strengthened.

HSBC said profits were up Monday in the first half of the year in what it called an "excellent" result after a turbulent 2016.

U.S. coffee chain Starbucks has announced it will take full control of its mainland China outlets in a $1.3 billion deal, the largest single acquisition in the company's history.

Volkswagen and U.S. environmental regulators announced agreement Thursday on a plan for the German automaker to fix most of the diesel cars involved in an emissions cheating scandal.

The company said the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board have approved the program, which involves about 326,000 VW cars sold between 2009 and 2014. That's the first generation of the "Clean Diesel" cars with 2.0 liter TDI engines, including the Jetta, Golf, Beetle and Audi A3.

Swiss banking giant UBS Friday posted higher profits for the second quarter as improved investor confidence led to growth in its wealth management units.

Net profit for the period was up 14 percent at 1.17 billion Swiss francs (1.03 billion euros, $1.21 billion).

Moroccan police have arrested a British dealer in virtual currency Bitcoin wanted on fraud charges in the United States, a source close to the investigation told AFP on Thursday.