World stock markets fell further Friday following a downbeat session in Asia, and after Wall Street's Trump-fuelled surge finally came to an end.

European equities staggered lower with London sentiment also dented by news of a fresh drop in retail sales.

German insurance giant Allianz reported a rise in profits for 2016 and increased its dividend, but warned that political and market uncertainty could make for an unpredictable 2017. 

Allianz increased net profit by 4.0 percent to 6.9 billion euros ($7.4 billion) in 2016, it said in a statement late Thursday, slightly overshooting analysts' forecasts.

Jo Geitani has designed M1 office building headquarters, first project in Lebanon to achieve the LEED Platinum.

M1 building is nominated for the Lebanese architect awards for the sustainable category, you can like this link to vote for the project.

Major European equity markets posted losses Thursday as investors cashed in on recent gains, but a steady opening on Wall Street helped them bounce off the day's lows.

Austria's defence ministry will sue European giant Airbus over alleged corruption and bribery linked to a controversial $2 billion sale of Eurofighter jets, an official said Thursday.

The country's largest-ever defence deal has been plagued by scandals from the very start.

India has awarded drilling rights for 31 small oil and gas fields as it looks to reduce its costly dependence on energy imports.

In its first such auction in six years, contracts for the fields were awarded to 22 companies, the majority of which are new to the oil and gas sector.

Top EU economic affairs official Pierre Moscovici met Greek leaders in Athens on Wednesday in a bid to break the deadlock between the debt-laden country and its creditors.

The European Parliament backed a contested EU-Canada free trade deal on Wednesday, facing down protests by activists and Donald Trump-inspired calls for protectionism.

MEPs meeting in Strasbourg, France, approved the pact with 408 votes in favour, 254 against and 33 abstentions. 

British annual inflation picked up to its highest level in two and a half years in January, driven by rising fuel and food prices, official data showed Tuesday.

Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, said Tuesday it booked net loss of 2.4 billion Swiss francs (2.2 billion euros, $2.3 billion) in 2016, after agreeing to a massive settlement with the US authorities last month over its role in the so-called sub-prime crisis in 2008.

Credit Suisse said in a statement that its net loss was narrower than a year-earlier figure of 2.9 million Swiss francs.