Saudi Arabia said Monday it would create the world's largest wealth fund and sell shares in state energy giant Aramco as it unveiled a vast plan to transform its oil-dependent economy.

The announcement of the long-term reform program, dubbed "Saudi Vision 2030", marks the beginning of a hugely ambitious attempt to move Saudi Arabia beyond oil, the backbone of its economy for decades, amid a steep fall in prices.

Crude prices fell in Asia Monday following a report saying Saudi Arabia could maintain its total production capacity with the expansion of an oilfield, fueling fresh concerns about the global supply glut.

The International Monetary Fund forecast Monday economic growth in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council will be 1.8 percent this year, down from 3.3 percent in 2015, and urged spending cutbacks.

The head of a Chinese wealth management firm who allegedly fled with more than $150 million in investors' money surfaced in an online video on Monday saying he will "be right back", as police searched for him.

"No more appointments today" reads a sign at a bank in Berlin where refugees are queuing to open an account -- a key step towards integrating into German society, even if not all banks are playing along.

But Mohammed is one of the lucky ones and has an appointment for the afternoon.

U.S. officials have ordered Boeing to fix engines on some of its 787 Dreamliner airplanes to avoid sudden failure in icy conditions, calling the problem an "urgent safety issue."

The Federal Aviation Administration directive concerns a potential problem in General Electric engines that could affect more than 150 of the planes worldwide, following a January incident that caused an engine on a 787, Boeing's newest passenger plane, to fail mid-flight.

France said late Friday that it would lead a four-billion-euro capital increase for power company EDF, months after agreeing a similar cash injection for the other pillar of its nuclear industry, Areva.

EDF, which is 85 percent owned by the French state, also pledged to cut millions more in costs and sell off assets in a bid to reduce its huge pile of debt.

Russia said Friday it had temporarily suspended its demand for full repayment of a disputed $3-billion loan to Ukraine, saying it wanted to give the new government in Kiev time to "assess the situation".

"We have given the new Ukrainian government an extension to assess the situation with a clear head, to reevaluate its position and open negotiations with Russia on its debt," Interfax news agency quoted Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as saying.

Embattled German carmaker Volkswagen said Friday it is setting aside 16.2 billion euros ($18.2 billion) in provisions to cover the anticipated costs of the global engine-rigging scandal it is engulfed in.

The massive charge pushed the auto giant deeply into the red in its 2015 accounts, where it booked a bottom-line loss of 1.582 billion euros, compared with a profit of 10.84 billion euros a year earlier, VW said in a statement.

The tech-dominated Nasdaq index tumbled early Friday after shares of Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet sank on disappointing earnings, but the Dow managed a small opening gain.

About five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18,000.32, up 17.80 points (0.10 percent).