Consumer technology spending is getting a boost from wearables, smart devices and streaming media services and should hit record levels in the United States this year, organizers of a major tech gathering said Sunday.

Oil prices surged, gold hit a more than six-year high and most equities tumbled Monday after the U.S. assassination last week of a top Iranian general fanned fears of a major conflict in the Middle East.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire urged the United States Monday to renounce threatened sanctions on France in a dispute over taxation of tech giants, and warned of possible EU retaliation.

European stocks fell at the open on Friday, with investors rattled after a US strike killed top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, fanning fears of a Middle East conflict.

In initial trade, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of major blue-chip companies reversed 0.3 percent to 7,578.79 points.

Oil prices soared more than four percent Friday following news that the US had killed a top Iranian general, fanning fresh fears of a conflict in the crude-rich region.

A labor walkout that has frustrated Paris commuters and marooned thousands of holiday travelers in France dragged into its 29th day on Thursday, becoming the country's longest continuous railway strike with no end in sight.

Car giant Volkswagen said Thursday it would open talks on a possible settlement in a mass lawsuit brought by hundreds of thousands of German diesel car owners over emissions cheating.

Global stock markets powered ahead Thursday as investors welcomed 2020 with a raft of strong gains after China's central bank announced fresh stimulus, dealers said.

Britain's manufacturing activity slumped in December for the eighth month in a row, hit by Brexit jitters and global trade tensions, data showed Thursday.

Tesla delivered its first batch of China-made cars on Monday, less than a year after the electric vehicle company broke ground on its first plant outside the United States.