The US has sanctioned four Iraqis it has accused of being involved in a recent brutal crackdown on protesters and corruption.

Asana, the business software company led by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, is expected to choose a direct listing when it goes public next year, adding to the succession of companies using the alternative to initial public offerings.

Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz will step down in 2020, and the central bank has begun a search for his successor.

Germany’s sprawling industrial sector is suffering its steepest downturn for a decade, underlining how the engine of the eurozone’s biggest economy is sputtering.

Smith & Wesson’s parent company American Outdoor Brands raised its full-year outlook after booking stronger quarterly sales than forecast, as US demand for firearms has picked up in the back half of 2019.

General Motors and South Korea’s LG Chem plan to invest a combined $2.3bn in a joint venture to build a new battery plant in the US, as the automaker prepares to ramp up production of electric vehicles.

United Airlines on Thursday said Oscar Munoz will step down as chief executive next year, hand the top job to the US carrier’s president, Scott Kirby and finally take a seat in the chairman’s lounge.

The two-year recession in German industry is showing few signs of ending after orders in the country’s manufacturing sector fell more than expected in October with a further shrinkage expected in November.

Euronext, the exchanges operator, has made its second deal in northern Europe in a year with an €84m cash purchase of a controlling interest in Nord Pool, a power trading venue that competes with Nasdaq and Deutsche Börse.

India’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Thursday as policymakers grapple with the need to boost a slowing economy while curbing a rise in inflation that risks spurring social unrest.

Slack’s shares recovered some lost ground late on Wednesday after the workplace messaging app reported stronger revenue growth in its latest quarter and issued a positive forecast for the rest of its fiscal year.

US stocks bounced back on Wednesday, while Treasury yields also rose, as reports China and the US could be close to a trade deal breathed new life into risk assets.

The owners of the New York Mets are in talks to sell up to 80 per cent of the baseball club to hedge fund manager Steven Cohen, valuing the team at $2.6bn, said people familiar with the matter.

Glencore has signed a six-year deal to supply up to 30,000 tonnes of cobalt to SK Innovation, the Korean manufacturer, allowing it to produce batteries for 3m electric vehicles.

Inquests into the deaths of the two victims of the London Bridge attack along with their attacker were opened and adjourned on Wednesday at London’s Old Bailey.

German-Russian relations have been plunged into crisis after German federal prosecutors said there were “sufficient indications” that Moscow was behind the murder of a Chechen rebel in a Berlin park in August.

Expedia’s chief executive and chief financial officer have resigned after clashing with its board over an “ambitious” reorganisation plan that weighed heavily on the travel booking group’s recent results.

US private sector employment slowed sharply in November marking the weakest growth in six months and signalling weakness in the labour market ahead of Friday’s official non-farm payrolls report.

Endeavour Mining’s proposed £1.5bn all-stock offer for Centamin would expose shareholders to the deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso, the board of the target company has warned.

Business activity in the UK’s dominant services sector suffered its sharpest fall in eight months in November, according to a survey, heightening fears that continued political uncertainty will mean the economy contracts in the last quarter of 2019.

GAM has been accused by the Swiss stock exchange of a “potentially material misstatement” in accounting relating to its ill-fated purchase of a UK hedge fund in the latest blow to the asset manager.

Markets were jolted after Donald Trump suggested a trade deal with China could be delayed until after the US presidential election in November next year.

Glencore’s chief executive said the miner and commodity trader would continue with its transition toward a new, younger generation of leaders in 2020.

British lender Zopa has raised £140m from US investor IAG Capital in a last-minute effort to salvage its bid to secure a full banking licence.