Crude prices dipped in Asia Tuesday but held above $40 as traders awaited a summit of key oil producers next week to discuss freezing output and easing the supply glut.

Inflation in Germany edged higher in March, with rising prices for food, services and rents offsetting falling energy prices, final data showed on Tuesday. 

The Israel Tax Authority said Monday it was imposing a value added tax on local sales by international Internet-based firms, a change that could affect multinational giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook.

Prior to the new directive, a foreign company's income from sales in Israel would be taxed only if the product was produced locally.

Crude prices edged down in Asia Monday following last week's gains that were fueled by data showing a drop in U.S. production, while traders look ahead to an upcoming meeting of oil majors they hope will lead to output limits.

China's economic slowdown will hit growth in developing East Asia and the Pacific from this year until at least 2018, the World Bank said Monday, warning of volatile global markets and urging caution.

Regional growth is forecast to slow from 6.5 percent in 2015 to 6.3 percent this year and 6.2 percent in 2017 and 2018, the bank said in its latest outlook.

The oil-rich Gulf states are expected to borrow between $285 billion and $390 billion through 2020 to finance budget deficits resulting from low oil price, a report said Sunday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron released his tax details Sunday in a bid to defuse a row over his father's offshore business, but faced further questions over money he received from his mother.

Cameron took the unprecedented step of publishing a summary of six years of his tax returns, and revealed that he got a £200,000 ($280,000, 240,000 euros) gift from his mother, on top of £300,000 in inheritance from his late father.

Dubai plans to build a tower that will stand higher than its Burj Khalifa, currently the world's tallest skyscraper, property developer Emaar said Sunday.

The viewing tower will cost around $1 billion (880 million euros) and will be "a notch" taller than Burj Khalifa, Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar told reporters as he revealed details of the project. 

Sri Lanka will bring legal reforms to encourage much needed foreign investment, as the cash-strapped island tries to turn its $8 billion Chinese debt into equity, the prime minister said Sunday.

A fuel scarcity reached a climax this week with cars in lengthy queues clogging traffic, stoking tempers and dampening investor confidence in a top oil producing country.