Norwegian oil giant Statoil on Wednesday again slashed its investment forecast for this year as dropping oil prices and writedowns led to weaker-than-expected third quarter earnings.

The group reported a net loss of 2.8 billion kroner (299 million euros, $329.1 million) during the quarter, which was an improvement on the 4.8-billion-kroner loss it registered in the same period a year ago owing to a vast cost savings program.

German auto giant Volkswagen said Wednesday that the global pollution-cheating scam it is currently embroiled in pushed it deeply into the red in the third quarter and would hurt earnings for the whole of 2015.

VW said in a statement that it booked a net loss of 1.673 billion euros ($1.85 billion) in the period from July to September, compared with a profit of 2.971 billion euros a year earlier. 

Weak U.S. economic data dented confidence on Asian trading floors Wednesday, sending investors running for safe investments ahead of policy announcements by the Federal Reserve and Japan's central bank.

Dealers are nervous heading into the corporate earnings season, with equities and currency markets having suffered their worst quarter for four years during July-September.

Troubled British bank Barclays on Wednesday announced the appointment of former JP Morgan investment banker James Staley as its new chief executive.

The 58-year-old American will take up his new role on December 1, the bank announced in a statement, indicating a renewed focus on its investment division.

U.S. Republican leaders Tuesday began selling the comprehensive budget deal they reached with the White House to fellow lawmakers, running into conservative opposition to lifting the debt ceiling without dramatic spending cuts.

The agreement, negotiated largely in secret between outgoing House Speaker John Boehner and the White House with input from other congressional leaders, would raise spending caps by modestly increasing federal spending by about $80 billion over the next two years.

European lawmakers on Tuesday approved an end to loathed mobile phone roaming charges in the EU by 2017 and adopted rules to ensure open internet access.

"This abolition of roaming surcharges has been long awaited by everybody: ordinary people, start-ups, SMEs and all kinds of organizations," said Pilar del Castillo, the Spanish MEP who helped steer the legislation through the European Parliament.

Syria's oil, gas and mineral resource industries have suffered losses totaling more than $50 billion since the country's conflict erupted in 2011, the oil minister said in comments published Tuesday.

Oil Minister Suleiman al-Abbas was quoted as saying by Syria's al-Watan newspaper that attacks carried out by "terrorist" groups and U.S.-led air strikes on jihadists have severely damaged infrastructure.

Saudi Arabia is studying a rise in its heavily-subsidized domestic energy prices, the oil minister said on Tuesday, as the kingdom confronts a record deficit caused by falling oil revenues.

"All prices eventually rise," Ali al-Naimi said on the sidelines of a mining conference.

Kuwait's ruler called Tuesday on officials in the oil-rich state to seek alternative revenue sources and reduce public expenditure after state income dropped 60 percent due to a sharp slide in crude prices.

Addressing parliament at the beginning of its new term, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah urged citizens to understand the new measures.

Japan's Canon said Tuesday that slumping demand for cameras took a bite out of its bottom line, as consumers increasingly turn to picture-taking smartphones.

The company also blamed sagging sales of its office printers in China and across Asia for a 19 percent decline in nine-month net profit to 151.3 billion yen ($127 million).