Badly conceived and economically wrong, the euro is at the heart of most of the eurozone's problems such as stagnation, unemployment and the rise of the far-right, Nobel-prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz told AFP Wednesday. 

Lending by Chinese banks more than doubled month-on-month in August, reversing from a sharp fall in July, the central bank said Wednesday, another sign of stabilization in the world's second-largest economy.

New loans extended by banks jumped to 948.7 billion yuan ($141.8 billion) last month, up from the 463.6 billion yuan in July, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) said.

Asian markets mostly fell on Wednesday as uncertainty over the future of central bank monetary policy weighed on buying interest while warnings of an extended oil glut sank energy firms.

The region's traders were given a rocky lead from Wall Street where all three main indexes ended more than one percent lower as a plunge in crude prices shredded already tender nerves.

Despite hopes of a new dawn for Iran's economy after nuclear-related sanctions were lifted, major Western banks are reluctant to do business with the Islamic republic for fear of US retribution.

A global oil glut that has hurt producers but means cheaper pump prices look set to go on at least six months longer than previously thought, the IEA said Tuesday, sending world oil prices slumping.

An EU trade deal with Morocco was wrongly quashed and the decision should be overturned, a lawyer to the bloc's top court said Tuesday about a case which soured ties between Brussels and Rabat.

The killing of four children by their poverty-stricken mother -- who then committed suicide, followed by her husband -- sparked online outrage and debate in China Tuesday over the gap between rich and poor.

The head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde on Tuesday said politicians who campaigned on promises of protectionism and economic barriers were a threat to global trade.

Samsung Electronics will sell its printer business to U.S. computer maker HP, the companies said Monday, as the South Korean giant accelerates restructuring efforts amid a generational power transfer in the founding Lee family. 

Oil prices dived again Monday on a pick-up in drilling and a strong dollar, as speculation swirled that the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates as soon as this month.