The economies of Middle Eastern and North African countries were resilient this year, but double-digit inflation is expected to slow growth in 2023, the International Monetary Fund said Monday.

The IMF forecast GDP growth at 5% in 2022 for countries in the region. For oil-exporting nations, growth was projected at 5.2%, mainly due to high oil prices and robust GDP growth in other countries, which offset the impact of high food prices.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates defended on Monday a decision by OPEC and its allies to cut oil production, even as an American envoy warned of "economic uncertainty" ahead for the world.

While cordial, the comments at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference showed the stark divide between the United States and Gulf Arab countries it supports militarily in the wider Middle East. Already, American politicians have threatened arms deals with the kingdom and described it as siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid his war on Ukraine.

The European Union on Sunday urged Russia to reverse its decision to suspend participation in a vital Ukraine grain export deal.

Ukraine's maritime grain exports were halted Sunday after Russia suspended its participation in a landmark agreement that allowed the vital shipments, blaming drone attacks on its ships in Crimea.

The German economy grew in the third quarter, an unexpectedly positive performance powered largely by private spending, official figures showed Friday. But the immediate outlook for Europe's biggest economy remained gloomy, with inflation rising again in October.

Gross domestic product expanded by 0.3% in the July-September period compared with the previous quarter, the Federal Statistical Office said. That followed a slight increase of 0.1% in the second quarter.

Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter after a protracted legal battle and months of uncertainty. The question now is what the billionaire Tesla CEO will actually do with the social media platform.

The New York Stock Exchange began the process Friday to delist Twitter. That means everyday investors will no longer be able to buy and sell stock in the company and Twitter would no longer be required to publicly reveal details of its quarterly or annual financial performance with U.S. regulators.

Oil companies brought in record profits once again as people worldwide struggled with high gasoline and energy prices.

Exxon Mobil broke records with its profits in the third quarter, raking in $19.66 billion in net income. The Irving, Texas company said Friday that it booked $112.07 billion in quarterly revenue, more than double the revenue it received last year during the same period.

Israel and Lebanon on Thursday concluded a long-awaited deal to delimit their maritime borders, as Israel this week activated the key Karish gas field unlocked by the agreement.

The offshore field is crucial to Israel's ambitions to tap into European markets, and on Wednesday London-listed firm Energean said it had already begun producing gas from Karish ahead of the signing of the U.S.-brokered deal.

The European Central Bank piled on another outsized interest rate hike aimed at squelching out-of-control inflation, increasing rates Thursday at the fastest pace in the euro currency's history and raising questions about how far the bank intends to go with the threat of recession looming over the economy.

The 25-member governing council raised its interest rate benchmarks by three-quarters of a percentage point at a meeting in Frankfurt, matching its record increase from last month and joining the U.S. Federal Reserve in making a series of rapid hikes to tackle soaring consumer prices.

The problems have hardly gone away. Inflation, still near a 40-year high, is punishing households. Rising interest rates have derailed the housing market and threaten to inflict broader damage. And the outlook for the world economy grows bleaker the longer that Russia's war against Ukraine drags on.

But for now anyway, the U.S. economy has likely returned to growth after having shrunk in each of the first two quarters of 2022.