IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday defended central bank rate hikes in a veiled rebuke to Donald Trump after the US president blamed "crazy" Fed policies for contributing to financial market turmoil.

Britain will have to accept limited new administrative controls on trade with Northern Ireland in any negotiated Brexit deal, Europe's chief negotiator warned on Wednesday.

Brazil's stock market took a dive Wednesday after far-right presidential frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro defined limits for his privatization plans for the country's huge energy sector, specifically to keep key assets out of Chinese control.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned China on Wednesday against engaging in competitive currency devaluations as the two countries wage a trade war, in comments published in the Financial Times.

There are several factors behind the recent fall in the Chinese yuan, or renminbi (RMB), including economic issues in China, Mnuchin he told the newspaper ahead of meetings in Bali, Indonesia of the IMF, World Bank and G20.

A severe recession would slash US public wealth by about $5 trillion, causing vastly more damage to Washington's finances than just an increase in debt and deficits, the IMF warned Tuesday.

Drivers for taxi-sharing app Uber went on strike in Britain on Tuesday, demanding higher fares and improved workers' rights and urging users not to cross the digital picket line by ordering rides.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday predicted Iran's economy will sink deep in the red due to renewed US sanctions but forecast increased Saudi growth on the back of higher oil production.

In its World Economic Outlook, the IMF said the oil-dependent economy of the Islamic republic is expected to shrink by 1.5 percent this year and by 3.6 percent in 2019.

An upswing in economic risks due to rising trade tensions and debt levels has prompted the International Monetary Fund to cut its forecast for world growth for this year and next.

With trade growth set to slow sharply amid a trade war between the United States and China, the IMF cut its outlook for global GDP by two-tenths to 3.7 percent for 2018 and 2019, according to the quarterly World Economic Outlook Report issued Monday.

U.S. sanctions on Iran will not impact Qatar Airways' flights to the Islamic republic, the airline's boss Akbar al-Baker said on Monday.

Speaking at a high-profile business conference in the Qatari capital Doha, Baker said services to Iran would continue despite a tightening economic and political squeeze on Iran by Washington.

The Sao Paulo stock exchange soared six percent in opening trades Monday after right-wing populist Jairo Bolsonaro's strong first-place finish in round one of Brazil's presidential elections.