The euro zone economic recovery regained momentum this month as an easing of coronavirus restrictions gave a boost to the bloc’s dominant service industry, a survey showed, but consumers faced prices rising at a record rate.

The pandemic and soaring inflation have done nothing to take the shine off luxury brands, from Louis Vuitton to Gucci and Cartier, as the sector hiked prices to notch up stellar profits.

Nickel surged Monday to the highest price in more than 10 years, driven by simmering Ukraine-Russia tensions and tight supplies.

Britain has an issue with Russian money funnelling through the City of London and it must be dealt with, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday.

The European Union launched a legal challenge against China at the World Trade Organization on Friday, arguing that Chinese courts were preventing European companies from protecting their telecom technology patents.

Canadian inflation rose to 5.1 per cent in January -- far outpacing economists’ expectations -- as price increases hit a 30-year high, the government statistical agency said Wednesday.

UK annual inflation has hit the highest level since 1992, data showed Wednesday, adding pressure to the cost of living and on the Bank of England to keep raising rates.

The UK’s unemployment rate remained steady at the end of last year despite the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, official data showed on Tuesday.

Confidence among investors in Germany grew in February, according to figures published Tuesday, in spite of rising tensions with Russia over Ukraine and lingering supply chain issues.

A $27-billion deal between France’s Total and Iraq, that Baghdad hoped would reverse the exit of oil majors from the country, has stalled amid disputes over terms and risks being scrapped by the country’s new government.

Oil prices were steady on Monday in seesaw trading, after hitting their highest in more than seven years on fears that a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia could trigger US and European sanctions that would disrupt exports from one of the world’s top producers.

Global supplies of diesel are dwindling as refiners struggle to keep pace with rapid post-pandemic demand recovery, exacerbating an acute global energy shortage which has already sent the prices of gas, coal and crude oil soaring.

Soaring energy prices have brought massive profits to oil majors -- along with fierce criticism from environmentalists and politicians at a time when consumers are left with rising bills.

An International Labour Organization committee has expressed  “deep concern” about China’s policies in its far western region of Xinjiang, calling them discriminatory and asking Beijing to bring its employment practices into line with global standards.

Qatar Petroleum is unlikely to face further EU antitrust action three years after EU regulators opened an investigation into its 20-year gas contracts on concerns that these may hinder the development of a single gas market in the 27-country bloc, sources said.

The European Central Bank is telling euro zone banks zone to step up their defences against cyber-attacks, also in the context of geopolitical tensions such as the stand-off between Russia and Ukraine, the ECB’s top supervisor said on Thursday.

High-end automakers Volvo Cars and Mercedes said Friday that the global supply chain bottlenecks caused them to sell fewer cars, but that their profitability rose as they were able sell vehicles at higher prices.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could help to calm oil markets if they pumped more crude, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday, but prices rose after the watchdog highlighted deepening risks of volatility.

Russia’s central bank once again raised its interest rate on Friday as authorities struggle to rein in rapidly growing inflation and soaring food prices.

Chinese firms are set to become a major trading force in the global liquefied natural gas market in coming years, thanks to liberalisations at home and recently signed long term contracts for record amounts of LNG from US suppliers.