Bitcoin surged past $18,000 after it began trading on its first major global exchange Sunday, the latest in a series of highs that have excited some investors while leaving others nervous of a bubble.

The U.S. economy continued to see robust job creation in November, with strong gains in manufacturing, health care and construction, the government reported Friday.

Employers added 288,000 new positions, far more than economists expected, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent.

Japan is growing twice as fast as previously estimated, official data showed on Friday, with the world's third-largest economy posting its longest string of gains in more than two decades.

Russia launches Friday its Yamal gas plant in Arctic Siberia, a gigantic project in one of the world's most remote areas, as the region becomes more accessible due to climate change.

Russia's privately owned gas producer Novatek has partnered with France's Total and China's CNPC at the helm of the project, which was scheduled to send its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the port of Sabetta on Friday.

Bitcoin flirted with $17,000 on Thursday, triggering a warning the cryptocurrency was like a "train with no brakes" and prompting fresh concern about its looming launch on mainstream markets.

European stock markets struggled Thursday as investors paused for breath, while bitcoin spiked to a dizzying record above $15,000 on frenzied speculative buying, dealers said.

Frankfurt and Paris stocks crept higher in late morning deals but London turned flat on the stronger pound.

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday said it was "surprised and disappointed" over its inclusion on a European Union tax haven blacklist.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's biggest at more than $1 trillion, has made its first investment in the Asian real estate market, the Norwegian central bank said on Thursday.

Bitcoin hit a fresh record of $14,000 Thursday as investors piled in, triggering a warning the cryptocurrency was "like a charging train with no brakes" which would inevitably slip back.

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday voiced confidence in striking a deal that would allow Britain to open negotiations on post-Brexit trade ties with the EU despite this week's setback.

"We are at the point of progressing to the next stage," May told parliament in London, after Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) blocked a proposed agreement on the Irish border being discussed in Brussels on Monday.