"No more appointments today" reads a sign at a bank in Berlin where refugees are queuing to open an account -- a key step towards integrating into German society, even if not all banks are playing along.

But Mohammed is one of the lucky ones and has an appointment for the afternoon.

U.S. officials have ordered Boeing to fix engines on some of its 787 Dreamliner airplanes to avoid sudden failure in icy conditions, calling the problem an "urgent safety issue."

The Federal Aviation Administration directive concerns a potential problem in General Electric engines that could affect more than 150 of the planes worldwide, following a January incident that caused an engine on a 787, Boeing's newest passenger plane, to fail mid-flight.

France said late Friday that it would lead a four-billion-euro capital increase for power company EDF, months after agreeing a similar cash injection for the other pillar of its nuclear industry, Areva.

EDF, which is 85 percent owned by the French state, also pledged to cut millions more in costs and sell off assets in a bid to reduce its huge pile of debt.

Russia said Friday it had temporarily suspended its demand for full repayment of a disputed $3-billion loan to Ukraine, saying it wanted to give the new government in Kiev time to "assess the situation".

"We have given the new Ukrainian government an extension to assess the situation with a clear head, to reevaluate its position and open negotiations with Russia on its debt," Interfax news agency quoted Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as saying.

Embattled German carmaker Volkswagen said Friday it is setting aside 16.2 billion euros ($18.2 billion) in provisions to cover the anticipated costs of the global engine-rigging scandal it is engulfed in.

The massive charge pushed the auto giant deeply into the red in its 2015 accounts, where it booked a bottom-line loss of 1.582 billion euros, compared with a profit of 10.84 billion euros a year earlier, VW said in a statement.

The tech-dominated Nasdaq index tumbled early Friday after shares of Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet sank on disappointing earnings, but the Dow managed a small opening gain.

About five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18,000.32, up 17.80 points (0.10 percent).

Singapore authorities have raided several brokerage houses for possible violations of securities laws, officials and media reports said Friday.

Europe's main stock markets dipped at the start of trading on Friday, with sharp focus on the embattled auto sector as German car giant Daimler launched a probe on emissions.

Oil prices climbed in Asia on Friday, heading for their third weekly gain after OPEC said it was open to fresh talks on freezing output despite the failure to reach a deal at the weekend.

Japanese mobile giant SoftBank on Thursday hit back at a bid by a group of investors to unseat the former Google executive seen as heir apparent to its billionaire founder Masayoshi Son.