House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said that "every hour matters" as his team scrambles to finalize a budget deal with the White House that would enable the government to avoid a potentially catastrophic default. The two sides have to strike a deal in a matter of days before the country runs out of cash to pay its bills.

McCarthy's team visited the White House on Wednesday for what both sides said was a productive session — but it still failed to produce an agreement as time runs out. House Republicans left town ahead of the holiday weekend while waiting for leaders to produce a bill.

Wall Street followed world markets modestly higher early Friday, lifted by optimism that Congress and the president will strike a deal to unlock a vote for lifting the U.S. government's debt ceiling and avert a potentially calamitous default.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each rose about 0.2% before the bell.

British Airways canceled dozens of flights Friday, blaming computer problems for disrupting plans for thousands of passengers at the start of a busy holiday weekend — a rocky kickoff to the summer travel season in Europe.

The technical glitches and strikes by airport staff across Europe are stirring concerns about a repeat of last summer's post-pandemic air travel chaos that unleashed delays, cancellations and mountains of lost luggage from London to Sweden to Amsterdam.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, expressed concern Thursday about policies of each other's governments following Chinese raids on consulting firms and U.S. curbs on exports of semiconductor technology, their governments said.

The two sides announced no progress in disputes over technology and security but said Raimondo and Wang promised to strengthen exchanges on trade issues.

Days from a deadline, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are narrowing in on a two-year budget deal aiming to curb federal deficits in exchange for lifting the nation's debt ceiling and staving off an economically devastating government default.

The Democratic president and Republican speaker hope to strike a budget compromise this weekend. With Republicans driving for steep cuts, the two sides have been unable to agree to spending levels for 2024 and 2025. Any deal would need to be a political compromise, with support from both Democrats and Republicans to pass the divided Congress.

The World Bank approved a $300 million additional financing to Lebanon's poor, providing cash payments to help families struggling through the country's historic economic meltdown, institution said in a statement Friday.

The new financing comes two years after the World Bank approved a $246 million loan to Lebanon to provide emergency cash assistance to hundreds of thousands in the tiny Mediterranean nation of 6 million people.

The Chinese government on Wednesday defended its ban on products from U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. in some computer systems after Washington expressed concern, adding to strains over technology and security.

The security review of Micron products was "conducted in accordance with the law," said a foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning.

Phoenix retiree Saundra Cole has been watching the news about the debt limit negotiations in Washington with dismay — and limiting her air conditioning use to save money just in case her monthly Social Security check is delayed due to a default.

For her, air conditioning is no small thing in a city where the average daily high hits 94 degrees in May. If the government can't make good on its obligations, she says, "I would be devastated."

As it marks its 25th anniversary Wednesday, the European Central Bank is readying a proposed design for a digital version of the euro, responding to pressure from developing technology that could change how money is used over the bank's next decades.

ECB President Christine Lagarde says a digital euro could offer a way for people to buy things without depending on payment service providers controlled by non-European companies. Those could include Mastercard, Visa, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Debt ceiling negotiations are locked on a classic problem that has vexed, divided and disrupted Washington before: Republicans led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy want to roll back federal government spending, while President Joe Biden and other Democrats do not.

Time is short to strike a deal before a deadline as soon as June 1, when the Treasury says the government risks running out of cash to pay its bills. Negotiators are expected to convene Wednesday for another round of talks as frustration mounts.