Canada's foreign minister on Saturday said the country is ready to resume North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations "anywhere, anytime," according to media reports.

Iran Air said Saturday it was set to take delivery of five new planes from Franco-Italian firm ATR just before renewed U.S. sanctions go into effect. 

China's foreign minister said Saturday that his country's threat to impose retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion of American goods in an escalating trade spat was "fully justified."

Asian countries have voiced concern about the potentially devastating impact of a U.S.-China trade war, with ministers calling for the acceleration of talks for a gigantic Beijing-backed free-trade deal that excludes the United States.

Saudi Arabia said Saturday that it was resuming oil shipments through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, ending a 10-day suspension triggered by rebel attacks off the coast of Yemen.   

The decision came after measures by a Saudi-led military coalition to "ensure the security of navigation in this strait and in the Red Sea", said Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khaled al-Falih, quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency. 

Iranians are hunkering down for the return of US sanctions on Monday with a run on gold and hard currency as they scramble to protect their savings, and sporadic protests over the already troubled economy.

Inflation in Turkey rose again in July to nearly 16 percent, official statistics showed on Friday, increasing pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates.

Once Pakistan's election winner Imran Khan forms a government, there will be little time to bask in his triumph: the country's next prime minister will inherit a critical economic situation, and analysts say he must act fast.

Profits at Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland almost evaporated in the second quarter after a vast US fine over its role in the notorious subprime crisis, the lender said Friday.

British bank Barclays said Thursday that it returned to net profit in the first half of 2018, after logging a loss last time on the sale of its Africa division.