German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz was grilled by lawmakers Wednesday as he faced growing pressure over his role in two financial scandals that have shaken the country.

The global economy is showing signs of bouncing back from the severe downturn caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, but a full recovery is "unlikely" without a vaccine, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Wednesday.

U.S. and European markets rose Wednesday, brushing aside falls in Asia and an overnight rout on Wall Street -- but U.S. jeweler Tiffany slumped on news its buyout by France's LVMH was off.

U.S. conglomerate General Electric said Wednesday it would restructure two European divisions that were the source of "large financial losses."

Lebanon on Wednesday launched a forensic audit of the central bank, in line with a long-standing request of donors, an outgoing minister said, as the country suffers its worst economic crisis in decades.

"Today the first phase of the forensic audit started," caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said in a statement.

Europe's main stock markets climbed Wednesday, brushing aside falls in Asia and an overnight rout on Wall Street.

France's economy, which like those of other countries was pushed into a bruising recession by the coronavirus, will bounce back now that lockdown measures are lifted but will still contract over the year as a whole, official data showed Tuesday.

Asian markets ticked higher Tuesday as investors edged back after last week's steep drops, brushing off Donald Trump's latest anti-China salvo, while sterling struggled to bounce back after fears over Brexit trade deal talks.

Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, said Monday it had so far returned $1.4 billion in refunds to customers amid sharply reduced global travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Britain will not become "a client state" under the terms of any post-Brexit trade deal struck with the European Union, the UK's chief negotiator David Frost insisted late on Saturday.