Now that Europe has announced tariffs on China-made electric cars, the continent is bracing to see if the other shoe drops.

Will China retaliate with tariffs on European cars, taking aim at Germany's BMW and Mercedes? Would it put tariffs on agricultural products, targeting Europe's politically influential farmers? Or luxury goods from Italy and France?

If Tesla shareholders approve an all-stock compensation package for CEO Elon Musk that was thrown out this year by a Delaware judge, it would almost guarantee he would remain at the company he grew to be the world leader in electric vehicles, shifting to AI and robotics including autonomous vehicles, which Musk says is Tesla's future.

If Tesla shareholders vote against restoring Elon Musk's $44.9 billion pay package Thursday, the CEO could deliver on threats to take artificial intelligence research to one of his other companies. Or he could even walk away.

The World Bank said Tuesday it has approved $1 billion for the construction of Pakistan's biggest Dasu hydropower project, which is being built in the country's northwest with China's help.

The loan would be used to expand the hydropower electricity supply and improve access for local communities, the bank said in a statement.

World shares were mixed on Tuesday in a busy week that will bring several top-tier reports on U.S. inflation along with a policy meeting of the Federal Reserve.

The future for the S&P 500 shed 0.1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%.

Gas prices are once again on the decline across the U.S., bringing some relief to drivers now paying a little less to fill up their tanks.

The national average for gas prices on Monday stood around $3.44, according to AAA. That's down about 9 cents from a week ago — marking the largest one-week drop recorded by the motor club so far in 2024. Monday's average was also more than 19 cents less than it was a month ago and over 14 cents below the level seen this time last year.

Derided as "Club Med" nations during the European debt crisis 15 years ago, the economies of Spain, Greece and Portugal are now outperforming their northern peers thanks to a rebound in tourism.

Oil giant Saudi Aramco said Sunday that international investors had snatched up the bulk of shares sold in its latest offering, which was set to raise $11.2 billion.

The secondary offering was expected to provide a short-term boost to Saudi Arabia's finances as the Gulf kingdom builds large-scale projects including resorts and stadiums, part of a reform drive to prepare for an eventual post-oil future.

The Japanese economy shrank at an annual rate of 1.8% in the first quarter of this year, slightly better than the initial estimate at a 2.0% contraction, according to revised government data Monday.

The revision was due to private sector investments, at minus 0.4%, up from the previous minus 0.5%.

World stocks were mostly lower on Monday after a U.S. jobs report released Friday came in hotter than expected, while the euro fell after French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly following a setback in Sunday's parliamentary election.

Far-right parties made major gains in parliamentary elections Sunday, leading French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap election. This caused the euro to drop to its lowest price in nearly a month. The euro was trading at $1.0766, down from $1.0778.

They are called zombies, companies so laden with debt that they are just stumbling by on the brink of survival, barely able to pay even the interest on their loans and often just a bad business hit away from dying off for good.

An Associated Press analysis found their numbers have soared to nearly 7,000 publicly traded companies around the world — 2,000 in the United States alone — whiplashed by years of piling up cheap debt followed by stubborn inflation that has pushed borrowing costs to decade highs.