A strong run for world equities since Donald Trump's election showed signs of reversing Wednesday as Wall Street posted losses and European equities trod water.

Saudi petrochemical giant SABIC's net profits fell almost five percent last year, in part due to lower sales prices, the firm announced Wednesday.

Paris saw a drop of 1.5 million tourists in 2016 as fears linked to terror attacks scared off visitors, especially from China and Japan, figures showed Tuesday.

Russia's Rosneft oil giant has paved the way for investment in Libya's oil sector by signing a Cooperation Framework Agreement with the National Oil Corporation of Libya, it was announced Tuesday.

A vast corruption scheme that started in Brazil but morphed into a giant international scandal is about to spread even further, a top prosecutor warned Monday.

Brazil-based Odebrecht, one of the region's biggest construction companies, was at the heart of a scheme to bribe Brazilian state oil giant Petrobras in exchange for inflated contracts. 

Protectionist fears under Donald Trump and uncertainties caused by Brexit sparked a huge plunge in 2016 profits, global banking giant HSBC said Tuesday.

Unveiling an 82 percent fall in its net profit, the bank said ongoing volatility and surging populism around the world would continue to hit its bottom line.

European stock markets rose Monday, with gains in London capped by a sharp drop in the share price of Unilever following the collapse of a proposed mega-merger.

Germany will see growth pick up in the first quarter of 2017, powered by industry and consumer spending, the country's central bank said Monday.

Chinese banks lent more money in January alone than the annual GDP of South Africa, as borrowers rushed to take advantage of government policies intended to stimulate the economy with easy credit.

But the free-for-all has had unintended consequences, creating a tottering tower of unsustainable debt, with Beijing now trying to tighten monetary policy and reduce access to credit without bringing the entire edifice crashing down.

Eurozone finance ministers will on Monday seek the outline of a deal to unblock bailout cash for Greece before fraught elections across Europe endanger a quick fix.

Greece's eurozone and IMF creditors remain locked in a tense stalemate over debt relief and budget targets, spooking financial markets with fears of a return of the "Grexit" crisis.