Europe's major stock markets advanced Wednesday as investors drew strength from easing Omicron virus concerns and shrugged off a mixed performance on Wall Street and in Asia.

U.S. stocks were mixed in early trading Wednesday as traders awaited the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting that could signal when the central bank is likely to hike interest rates.

Hiring in the United States surged in December, with private companies adding 807,000 workers, particularly in the service sector, payroll services firm ADP reported Wednesday.

Lebanon's currency hit a new low Tuesday reaching 20 times its value on the black market since the economic meltdown began in late 2019 and likely throwing more people into poverty.

The pound was trading at 30,000 to 1 U.S. dollar on the black market as the economic crisis continues with no solution expected in the near future.

Britain on Tuesday rolled out new rules to make it harder for foreign firms to buy UK assets amid national security concerns surrounding proposed takeovers by Chinese and U.S. groups.

OPEC and its allies decided on Tuesday to maintain their policy of modestly boosting oil output next month as the rapidly spreading Omicron variant has so far not heavily hit demand.

Nostalgic for those mobile phones with a physical keyboard? Brace yourself, because as of Tuesday many models of the once-indispensable BlackBerry devices will no longer work.

Stock markets rallied Tuesday as investors bet on reduced economic fallout from the Omicron variant, while oil prices edged higher before a key OPEC output meeting.

The Lebanese pound sank to a new low on the black market on Monday, with no end in sight to the economic and political crisis gripping the country.

According to apps monitoring the black market rate, the pound was trading at 29,000 to the dollar on Monday afternoon, a record low.

Top oil producing countries on Monday picked Kuwaiti oil executive Haitham al-Ghais as the next secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).