Reuters

The United States on Friday imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia over its declared annexation of a swath of Ukraine, targeting hundreds of people and companies, including those in Russia's military-industrial complex and members of the legislature.

The rouble weakened on Friday, giving up huge gains that had seen it soar to an eight-year high against the euro, as investors slashed foreign currency holdings and President Vladimir Putin signed treaties annexing four Ukrainian regions.

Russia's rate-cutting cycle is over for now, a Reuters poll suggested on Friday, with analysts expecting the central bank to keep its key rate unchanged at 7.5% until the end of 2022, with high inflation and sanctions hampering Russia's economic recovery.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss heads to her Conservative Party conference next week with a packed diary of "meet and greets" to try to win over lawmakers angry over an economic plan that triggered market chaos and badly eroded support.

The multi-coloured toys piling up on the Russian shop shelves may look familiar.

Wall Street companies and others that break the rules should be required to admit their wrongdoing when settling enforcement actions, especially as the growth of retail investing puts more Americans at risk, a U.S.

U.S. consumer spending increased more than expected in August, but aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve as it battles stubbornly high inflation are slowing demand, which could limit an anticipated rebound in economic growth in the third quarter.

The budget-conscious Dutch, who enjoyed abundant cheap gas for half a century to heat their homes, are turning to more traditional heating methods as cold weather reaches the Netherlands.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said on Friday the U.S.

Iran's clerical rulers are eager to crush mass anti-government protests, but maneuvering over the eventual succession to the supreme leader and rifts over security tactics have complicated efforts to curb the unrest, three analysts and an official said.

Russia's spy chief on Friday blamed the West for what he said was the "terrorist act" of wrecking the subsea Nord Stream pipelines, raising the temperature in a crisis that has left Europe racing to secure its energy infrastructure and supplies.

An influential Iranian cleric called for tough action on Friday against protesters enraged by the death of a young woman in police custody who have called for the downfall of the country's leaders.

Concerns are rising again over the health of Pakistan's economy as foreign reserves run low, the local currency weakens and inflation stands at decades-high levels despite the resumption of an International Monetary Fund funding programme in August.

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Friday ruled Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had not exceeded the maximum eight years allowed in office, clearing the way for the former coup leader's return from a five-week suspension.

David Zih, who works in Hungary's film industry, never thought he would end up living in a yurt to escape the surging costs of living.

The United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is in talks with the International Monetary Fund on joining forces on a new financing programme designed to shore up sustainable growth in poorer countries.

A key measure of Sri Lanka's consumer inflation surged to an annual record 69.8% in September, official data showed on Friday, highlighting the challenge for the central bank as the island reels under its worst financial crisis in seven decades.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said a robot business will be worth more than its cars, and on Friday investors, customers and potential workers expect to see a prototype at Tesla's "AI Day" that could prove whether the bot named "Optimus" is ready for work.

Japan spent up a record 2.8 trillion yen ($19.7 billion) intervening in the foreign exchange market last week to prop up the yen, Ministry of Finance data showed on Friday, draining nearly 15% of funds it has readily available for intervention.

Two far-right U.S. politicians who want to upend the way votes are cast and counted are tied or leading in races to become the top election administrators in their states, according to recent polls.

Major leaks that suddenly erupted in the Nord Stream gas pipelines that run from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea have generated plenty of theories but few clear answers about who or what caused the damage.

The Swiss National Bank sold 5 million Swiss francs ($5.1 million) worth of foreign currency in market interventions in the second quarter of 2022, data on Friday showed, ending an era of heavy foreign currency purchases to curb the franc's gains.

A suicide attack at a tutoring centre in the Afghan capital Kabul killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens, police said on Friday, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

Missiles slammed into a car market in southern Ukraine on Friday, killing at least 23 people in a convoy of civilian vehicles and leaving bloodied bodies strewn across the ground in an attack local officials blamed on Russia.

In a year of wild market swings, the third quarter of 2022 was a time when events took a truly extraordinary turn.

The copper spot premium in top consumer China could stay elevated in the next few months, analysts and traders said on Friday, as demand for the metal has improved on the back of government stimulus.

Demand for U.S. dollars in the currency derivative markets surged on Friday to its highest since the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 as market turmoil sent investors hunting for cash at the end of one of the most volatile quarters in decades.

Brazilian leftist Luis Inacio Lula da Silva is within reach of a dramatic comeback in Sunday's election, four years after the popular two-term president watched from a jail cell as his party was trounced in the last presidential campaign.

Clear evidence this week that Eisai and Biogen's drug lecanemab slows cognitive decline in early stage dementia has galvanized efforts among Alzheimer's researchers toward a tantalizing goal - preventing dementia even before symptoms start.