The United States has renewed pressure on China to stop crude oil shipments to North Korea to close a crucial economic lifeline to the regime following its latest missile threat.

US President Donald Trump personally appealed to Chinese leader Xi Jinping to turn off the oil tap during a phone call after nuclear-armed North Korea launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile.

Britain is "very close" to agreeing the size of its Brexit bill, Ireland's EU commissioner said Wednesday, but reports that the divorce settlement could be up to 55 billion euros have angered both Brexiteers and europhiles.

Wall Street stocks were mostly higher early Wednesday after government data showed the economy grew at its fastest pace in three years, but shares of high-flying technology companies retreated, hitting the Nasdaq.

The U.S. economy in the third-quarter expanded by 3.3 percent, three tenths faster than the initial estimate and the strongest performance since the third quarter of 2014.

Greece on Wednesday debuted electronic foreclosures to address a huge private debt pile burdening banks as its international creditors returned for a scheduled review of the country's economic performance.

Bitcoin broke through the $10,000 barrier for the first time on Wednesday as it continues a stratospheric rise that has delighted investors but sparked fears of a bubble.

President Donald Trump raised the prospect of a damaging U.S. government shutdown Tuesday, suggesting a spending deal with Democrats may be impossible.

Trump -- a self-styled master dealmaker -- hit two top Democrats as weak on crime, immigration and the economy, hours before sitting down with them in Congress.

With oil prices nudging steadily higher, market expectations are for crude-pumping countries to prolong their deal to curb output at a meeting at OPEC headquarters in Vienna on Thursday.

Markets could be disappointed, however, with Russia reportedly not yet fully on board about signing up to extending the agreement, due to expire on March 31, until the end of 2018, experts say.

Bitcoin soared to fresh records Tuesday, putting it on course for $10,000, but the virtual currency's stratospheric rise has fuelled fears of a bubble after a 10-fold increase this year. 

Britain's lenders could support the economy through a "disorderly" Brexit, the Bank of England said Tuesday, as the sector passed its latest round of stress tests.

The assessments are designed to see whether the banking sector can weather a fierce worldwide recession, crashing house prices and soaring unemployment.

Eurozone stocks were mostly lower Monday as the euro extended gains on hopes that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is close to forming a government, dealers said.