Britain's economy was battered by the Brexit vote last month and faced a "dramatic deterioration" in activity as orders dried up and business investments were canned, key data showed Friday.

The world cannot depend on China alone to save it from a Brexit-induced downturn, the country's premier said Friday, ahead of hosting a meeting of G20 finance ministers.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde was ordered Friday to stand trial in France over a massive state payout to a colorful tycoon when she was French economy minister, dealing a setback to her stellar career.

Economic activity in the eurozone fell in July, but only slightly in a signal that the bad effects of Brexit have yet to take hold in continental Europe, a closely watched survey showed Friday.

Data monitoring company Markit did not cite Britain's vote to leave the EU as the specific cause of the downturn, and even said France and Germany showed surprising resilience.

The head of the International Monetary Fund called Friday for quick action to end uncertainty over Britain's vote to leave the European Union, which she said is dampening global economic growth.

The IMF cut this year's global growth forecast by 0.1 percentage points to 3.1 percent in a report released this week due to the shockwaves of the British vote, said Christine Lagarde.

North Korea's economy contracted for the first time in five years in 2015, the South's central bank said Friday, undermining leader Kim Jong-Un's stated policy of simultaneous military and economic development.

The isolated North's gross domestic product appeared to have shrunk 1.1 percent last year -- the first downturn since 2010 and the sharpest fall since 2007, the Bank of Korea said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Thursday said top economies should refrain from competitive currency devaluations -- a message likely directed at China, which hosts a G20 finance ministers meeting this weekend.

Malaysia has been gripped for more than a year by allegations that billions of dollars were looted from state investment fund 1MDB in an audacious campaign of fraud and money laundering.

The flood of billions of dollars out of China slowed dramatically in the second quarter, official figures showed Thursday, despite the yuan's persistent weakness making it less attractive to hold.

Britain should not be able to access the EU's single market without allowing free movement of EU citizens, French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday.