Japanese stocks were heading for a fifth consecutive week of gains on Friday after a series of central bank decisions hinted at prospective new easing measures and oil prices headed higher as the market weighed disruption to production in Saudi Arabia.

Australia’s banking regulator has failed in a legal challenge against IOOF Holdings, one of the country’s biggest wealth managers, and several of its directors, which it had accused of failing to act in the best interests of pension fund members. 

Japanese consumer price growth slipped to a two-year low in August, data showed on Friday, in a development that could complicate matters for the country’s central bank, which held off on unveiling any major new easing measures this week. 

US equities ended flat, with an afternoon slide leaving them worse off than their European and Asian counterparts as markets digested increasingly dovish signals from multiple rate-setting decisions by central banks across the globe.

Sterling climbed back over the $1.25 mark in a rally sparked by comments from European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, who offered confidence the EU and UK can reach a Brexit agreement before the October deadline.

The Trump administration has issued visas to Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and the country’s foreign minister to attend the UN General Assembly next week in New York, as US officials debate how to respond to the alleged Iranian attack last weekend on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.

Overstock.com founder Patrick Byrne has dumped all of his shares in the online retailer.

Ryanair investors have registered a big protest vote against pay after long-serving chief executive Michael O’Leary was granted a bonus that could be worth as much as €99m.

Walmart’s chief executive has been picked to head a group of leading US chief executives.

Donald Trump’s spat with the Federal Reserve may have taken on a new dimension, with his evolving call for zero or negative interest rates finally meeting some resistance from Jay Powell, the central bank’s chairman.

Impossible Foods, the company behind the plant-based burger, is looking to increase its reach among US consumers by making its first foray into the retail market on Friday (20th).

Poland’s development minister Jerzy Kwiecinski is to become the country’s new finance minister, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

Shares in China’s largest lithium producers rallied on Thursday on hopes that prices for the battery raw material have hit a bottom after a dramatic two-year decline.

The Bank of England struck a dovish tone on interest rates on Thursday, raising the prospect it might seek to cut them if Brexit uncertainty persisted in a weak global economy.

The chief executive of Eni called for world leaders to defuse rising tensions in the Gulf as Italy’s largest oil and gas company embarks on a big expansion in the Middle East.

Regulators have fined the production arm of Energias de Portugal, the country’s leading power utility, €48m for abuse of market dominance over a five-year period, saying it was responsible for “a serious restriction of competition”.

UK retail sales fell in August as online shopping contracted, reversing the boost from major sales promotions in July and raising concerns about the resilience of consumer spending.

Investors have taken out a record number of options contracts to bet on or hedge against moves in UK interest rates, amid rising concerns that Britain may leave the EU at the end of October without an agreement on its future relationship with the bloc.

The Swiss National Bank has held interest rates steady even as it slashed its growth forecast for the year amid rising global headwinds.

The UK competition regulator has said the takeover of sportswear chain Footasylum by rival JD Sports could result in higher prices, less choice and poorer service and demanded JD Sports address its concerns or face an in-depth probe of the deal.

Kier plunged to a £245m loss as the government contractor pushed ahead with an expensive restructuring as questions lingered over its financial health.

Saga’s chief executive said it was “open minded” about its future after Elliott, the activist investor, took a 5 per cent stake in the troubled travel and insurance group.

Three former top executives at the Tokyo Electric Power Co have been found not guilty of professional negligence resulting in injury or death in a trial relating to the 2011 disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station.

Australia’s currency fell to a two-week low on Thursday after the country’s unemployment rate rose in August, which could increase the likelihood of the central bank further cutting interest rates.