ECONOMY & MARKETS

Police imposed an overnight curfew in several parts of Sri Lanka's main city of Colombo early on Friday after protests over the government's handling of the country's worst economic crisis in decades turned violent, an official said.

Global stocks dropped on Thursday with U.S. shares sinking over 1.5%, as concerns about a recession and the Russian-Ukranian war spurred selling, while oil prices plunged over $6 as Washington launched a record release from its emergency oil reserves.

The dollar edged higher on Thursday as a lack of progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine boosted demand for the safe-haven currency and as the energy shock that has resulted from the war weighed on Europe's economy.

The dollar rose on Thursday as a lack of progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine boosted demand for the safe-haven currency and as the United States announced the largest release ever from its emergency oil reserve to try to blunt the energy shock from the war.

U.S. oil prices fell 7% to close just above $100 on Thursday as President Joe Biden announced the largest ever release from the U.S.

Switzerland has become more vulnerable to a shock from its inflated property sector, Swiss National Bank Vice Chairman Fritz Zurbruegg said on Tuesday, adding it is not the job of monetary policy to curb the risks.

As Canada's inflation outlook worsens, investors are betting the country's central bank will begin hiking its key interest rate in half-percentage-point increments, with the first of the rarely used upsized moves possibly coming as soon as next month.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has made little secret in recent weeks of his ire at state-run oil company Petrobras over rising fuel prices, teasing the possibility of swapping out its chief executive.

Argentina's central bank is likely to hike the benchmark interest rate between 150 and 350 basis points in April, analysts and traders said, after the country finalized a $44 billion debt program with the International Monetary Fund.

U.S. consumer confidence rebounded from a one-year low in March amid growing labor market optimism, but rising interest rates amid high inflation could hurt purchases of motor vehicles over the next six months and constrain consumer spending.

Russia retaliated in what it has called an "economic war" with the West on Tuesday by offering to buy back its $2 billion Eurobonds maturing next month in roubles rather than dollars.

By Aftab Ahmed and Krishna N. DasNEW DELHI - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is set to fly to India this week, sources said, finding time to visit to one of the biggest buyers of Russian commodities since the international community began isolating Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia said it would work out practical arrangements by Thursday for foreign companies to pay for its gas in roubles, raising the probability of supply disruptions as Western nations have so far rejected Moscow's demand for a currency switch.

Ghana's parliament approved a new 1.5% tax on electronic payments, known as the "e-levy," on Tuesday after the opposition walked out in protest.

France and Germany saw bigger than expected drops in consumer confidence this month as government steps to help with rising fuel costs and other inflation gave little relief following the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, surveys showed on Tuesday.

Japanese policymakers escalated their warning against sharp yen falls, with the country's top currency diplomat saying Tokyo and Washington agreed to "communicate closely" on currencies as the world's third-biggest economy struggled to regain its footing.

World share markets surged and global borrowing costs climbed on Tuesday, as the first face-to-face talks between warring Russia and Ukraine in nearly three weeks yielded signs of progress.

The Bank of Japan on Tuesday kept up its relentless quest to defend a key yield cap by offering to buy unlimited amounts of 10-year government bonds, putting even more downward pressure on the yen and testing its resolve to keep policy ultra-loose.

Australia's government is hoping to use budget goodies to offset cost of living pressures for disgruntled voters ahead of an election expected in May, but the consumer mood may already be too dark for the ploy to gain much traction.

Japan and the United States agreed to communicate closely on currency issues, Japan's top currency diplomat said on Tuesday in his strongest statement yet since the yen's decline to six-year lows against the dollar.

Japan will carefully watch foreign exchange market moves to avoid "bad yen weakening", Minister of Finance Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday, as Tokyo tries to navigate the economic impact of the rapidly rising cost of imports from a weakening currency.

The euro rose on Tuesday in cautious trading as Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in Turkey for the first direct talks in more than two weeks.

The euro edged higher on Tuesday in cautious trading as Ukrainian and Russian negotiators prepared to meet in Turkey for the first direct talks in more than two weeks.

The yen fought for a footing on Tuesday, following its worst session in 16 months, as the Bank of Japan pins down bond yields at a time when they are rising sharply in the rest of the world.

Bank of Japan policymakers stressed the need to keep monetary policy ultra-loose, even as some of them saw signs of growing inflationary pressure from the Ukraine crisis, a summary of opinions at their March meeting showed on Tuesday.

Oil prices closed down $2 on Tuesday, as talks progressed between Russia and Ukraine to end their weeks-long conflict, though Moscow negotiators said a promise to scale down some military operations did not represent a ceasefire.

More than 7,000 finance jobs have moved from London to the European Union as a result of Brexit, down 400 from the total anticipated in December, consultants EY said on Tuesday.

Two new funds that let investors place bets on stock market gyrations are expected to launch this week, potentially filling the void left by the implosion of similar products four years ago.

U.S. trade officials on Monday said they will launch an investigation that could result in tariffs on solar panels imported from four Southeast Asian nations, a blow to clean energy project developers that rely on cheap imports to keep costs down.