Lebanon on Monday hiked the price of subsidized bread by a fifth, as the government struggles to maintain funding key goods amid an economic crisis that has already sparked protests.

Caretaker Economy Minister Raoul Nehme said the price was due to an increase of wheat prices worldwide coupled with the high exchange rate to buy dollars.

Silver prices hit eight-year highs Monday with support from investors carrying out action similar to that which sent shares in video game retailer GameStop surging.

U.S. President Joe Biden will on Monday meet with a group of Republican senators who have proposed an alternative to his massive Covid-19 relief plan, but their measure excludes key programs Democrats consider essential. 

Wall Street indices opened higher on Monday, as traders searched for deals after a chaotic week that saw shares of some companies targeted in a social-media fueled buying spree surge.

Asian and European stock markets bounced higher Monday following last week's blood-letting as bargain-buyers moved in, while silver prices soared to an eight-year peak after it became a new target of chatroom-driven retail buying, dealers said.

Progressive lawmakers this week formally launched an effort to hike the U.S. minimum wage, introducing legislation to gradually raise it from $7.25 to $15 an hour.

India will push on with sweeping agriculture reforms, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday, as he criticized last week's deadly riot in the capital following a long-running protest campaign by farmers.

A group of 10 Republican senators have written President Joe Biden to propose an alternative to his massive Covid-19 relief plan, arguing that their approach could garner the bipartisan support he has said he seeks.

Britain said it is to apply to join a massive 11-nation free-trade bloc of Asia-Pacific countries this week, not long after quitting the European Union's single market.

The French economy plunged into a deep recession last year as the coronavirus pandemic slashed total output by 8.3 percent, official figures showed Friday.