France said Wednesday it was on track for modest growth this year at the same rate as earlier projections and also left its public deficit forecast untouched.

Kuwait is deploying national guard units to run and protect some oil facilities after workers announced a major strike for this weekend, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, taking a breather after a rally fueled by reports Saudi Arabia and Russia had agreed to freeze output ahead of a key producers' meeting.

The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday of potentially "severe" economic damage from a British exit from the European Union and voiced strong worries over generally deteriorating support for EU integration.

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday lowered the long-term credit rating of Saudi Arabia because of the negative impact of lower oil prices on the world's biggest crude exporter.

The agency "has downgraded Saudi Arabia's long-term foreign and local currency" ratings to AA- from AA, it said, adding the outlook remains negative.

Greece and its bailout creditors have suspended talks on the country's austerity program until next week, after a new set of marathon overnight negotiations failed to produce a breakthrough.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos says the meetings in Athens would resume April 18, with an aim to reaching an agreement by April 22, when he is due to meet with his peers from the 19-country eurozone.

The EU unveils plans on Tuesday to limit the rampant use of tax havens by the world's biggest multinationals, a measure the authorities say is made even more urgent by the Panama Papers scandal.

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.