Brazil's unemployment rate hit 8.2 percent last month, the highest level for February since 2009, official data said Wednesday, as the country struggles through twin political and economic crises.

Latin America's largest economy is mired in a deep recession and weighed down by political uncertainty as President Dilma Rousseff faces impeachment proceedings and the fallout of a massive corruption scandal.

Sri Lanka's loss-making national carrier will not be able to repay its debt of nearly $1 billion, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament Wednesday.

A British judge on Wednesday ruled that a British financial trader accused of manipulating markets and causing the 2010 "Flash Crash" in U.S. stocks can be extradited to face trial in the United States.

Shares of Nike slumped Wednesday on disappointing sales due in part to the strong dollar as U.S. stocks opened modestly lower.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,547.13, down 35.44 points (0.20 percent).

French luxury goods group Hermes said Wednesday that net profit rose to skim the billion-euro mark last year despite an economic slowdown in China, the Paris terror attacks and currency fluctuations.

Hermes, known for its leather handbags such as the Birkin named for the British singer and its silk square scarves, posted growth across the regions last year, led by Japan, it said.

Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse on Wednesday said it is aiming to cut an extra almost $1 billion in costs and slash thousands more jobs as it beefs up an ongoing restructuring program.

Credit Suisse's new chief executive Tidjane Thiam had in October announced a sweeping overhaul of Switzerland's second largest bank, shaving off excesses in its investment bank and refocusing on its private banking and wealth management units.

Starbucks shut all of its coffee shops in Belgium on Tuesday, after a Brussels airport outlet was apparently the location of one of the bombs that killed about 35 people.

"Amidst reports of attacks targeting Brussels Airport and a metro station, initial indications are that an explosion took place outside our store within the airport," the U.S. coffee chain said in a statement.

Qatar said on Tuesday that it has invited Iran to join talks among the world's top oil producers next month on implementing a proposed output freeze to stabilize plummeting prices.

The Qatari energy ministry said all 13 OPEC members including Iran had been invited to the April 17 talks in Doha with key non-cartel producers including Russia.

Oil prices resumed their rise in Asia on Tuesday, staying above $41 a barrel, as OPEC raised hopes of a moderate rebound and announced a meeting of key producers in April.

At around 0600 GMT U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in May, a new contract, rose 20 cents to $41.72. Brent for May was 17 cents higher at $41.71. 

Ukraine's war-torn economy shrank by nearly 10 percent in 2015 as its financial sector imploded and consumer demand shriveled up due to the currency's steep drop against the dollar.

The state statistics service's final adjusted figure of a 9.9 percent contraction in the gross domestic product was an improvement on the 10.4 percent drop forecast by the government at the end of last year.