Tax optimization is no longer a matter just for the multinationals. A number of market players are now tailoring strategies originally drawn up for the corporate whales to the minnows, or small businesses and independent entrepreneurs.

Powered by Chinese smartphone users splurging billions on mobile games and online shopping, China's tech giants Tencent and Alibaba are racing up the elite league of the world's most valuable companies.

Bitcoin, which this week soared to a new record high of more than $8,000, is the monetary equivalent of Uber, since it bypasses central bank regulation and could be attractive for financially fragile countries, economists say.

Iraq is to build a new pipeline to allow oil exports to resume from the northern province of Kirkuk to neighbouring Turkey, the oil ministry said Sunday.

Retailers worked hard to attract shoppers to stores on Black Friday, offering in-person deals meant to counter the ease of shopping by phone on Amazon.

A better economy and colder weather helped, to be sure. But stores have also tried to improve the store experience and offer better service. They've also made a big push toward offering store pickup for online orders, hoping to get people to pick up more items. But they're fighting a circumstance in which online leader Amazon is the first and only stop for many shoppers.

London's stock market fell on Friday, bucking an upwards trend elsewhere, as 'Black Friday' price-slashing wooed customers but was expected to hurt the bottom line of Britain's biggest retailers.

Asian markets mostly rose but investors moved warily on Friday after a sharp sell-off in Shanghai the previous day fuelled concerns of fresh turmoil in Chinese markets.

Shoppers are hitting the stores on Thanksgiving as retailers under pressure look for ways to poach shoppers from their rivals.

As the holiday shopping season officially kicked off, retailers are counting on a lift from a better economy. But they're also looking beyond economic data and mapping out ways to pick up sales from other retailers as Amazon expands its reach.

French business confidence hit a near 10-year-high in November, French statistics agency INSEE said on Thursday, providing a boost for President Emmanuel Macron. 

The dollar struggled Thursday in Asia following the previous day's losses as dovish Federal Reserve minutes rowed back expectations for US interest rate hikes.