Chinese President Xi Jinping sought Friday to allay Western unease over his new Silk Road initiative by emphasizing the vast infrastructure project's two-way nature as he kicked off a whistlestop European tour in Rome.

The pound rose Friday but was struggling to claw back its latest losses after the EU gave Britain a Brexit deadline extension, while equity markets mostly rose on a positive lead from Wall Street.

The Royal Mint, Britain's official coin-maker, has joined the legions of people and businesses left in limbo over Brexit as the country asks the EU to delay its departure from the bloc.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called a trade mechanism launched by European countries to bypass renewed U.S. sanctions a "bitter joke" on Thursday, in a speech aired by state TV.

Senior U.S. officials will visit Beijing for a new round of trade war talks on March 28-29, followed by a trip to the United States by China's top negotiator in April, the Chinese commerce ministry said Thursday.

The dollar struggled in Asia on Thursday after a surprisingly dovish Federal Reserve indicated it would not lift interest rates this year and sounded a note of caution on the economy.

German high-end carmaker BMW warned Wednesday it expects pre-tax profits "well below" 2018 levels this year as it announced a massive cost-cutting scheme aimed at saving 12 billion euros ($13.6 billion) in total by 2022.

Toyota on Wednesday said it will build a new hybrid car in Britain for Japanese peer Suzuki -- a welcome boost for the UK auto sector which has been hit by Brexit uncertainty. 

The EU's powerful anti-trust regulator slapped tech giant Google with a new fine on Wednesday over unfair competition, in Europe's latest salvo against Silicon Valley.

The pound fell sharply on Wednesday after British Prime Minister Theresa announced it was seeking a delay to its exit from the European Union until June 30, while investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate call.