The Bank of Canada on Wednesday hiked its benchmark interest rate to 1.5 percent, the first increase since mid-January, as the Group

China on Thursday said foreign firms operating in China would suffer in a trade war, urging US companies to lobby their government to protect their interests, and said no talks to end the impasse were currently under way.

The United States and China have fired the next shots in their escalating trade war, with Washington threatening to impose fresh tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese goods and Beijing vowing to retaliate.

China's exports growth is expected to have cooled only slightly in June, possibly further boosting a trade surplus with the United States in a test for Beijing as it tries to weather a volley of US tariffs on its goods that many fear could harm its economy.

Shanghai will accelerate efforts to cancel restrictions on foreign investment in the auto manufacturing sector, a government official said on Wednesday, a day after Tesla said it would build a wholly owned auto plant in the city.

India's newest airline Vistara said on Wednesday it had ordered 19 jets from Boeing and Airbus for a combined $3.1 billion as it prepares to launch international flights.

Japanese regulators said on Wednesday Apple Inc may have breached antitrust rules by forcing mobile service providers to sell its iPhones cheaply and charge higher monthly fees, denying consumers a fair choice.

Britain's data regulator has said it will fine Facebook half a million pounds ($660,000) for failing to protect users' data, in an inquiry into whether personal information had been misused by campaigns on both sides of Britain's 2016 EU referendum.

Australia is preparing to ban Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from supplying equipment for its planned 5G broadband network after its intelligence agencies raised concerns that Beijing could force the Chinese telco to hand over sensitive data, two sources said.

Ecuador's highest court upheld in a ruling released Tuesday a $9.5 billion damages award against oil giant Chevron over decades of pollution that harmed indigenous people.

Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox on Wednesday increased its takeover offer for Sky, valuing the pan-European TV group at £24.5 billion and trumping Comcast's rival bid.

India has become the world's sixth-biggest economy, pushing France into seventh place, according to updated World Bank figures for 2017.

Oil major Royal Dutch Shell said Tuesday it had suspended production on its North Sea field of Knarr after staff working the Norwegian continental shelf went on strike, adding to supply worries in the world's oil market.

SoftBank Group is increasing its stake in Yahoo Japan through a $2 billion, three-way deal with US firm Altaba to deepen ties with the internet heavyweight ahead of an IPO of its telecoms unit.

PepsiCo Inc reported second-quarter revenue and profit that topped Wall Street estimates as higher sales in its Frito-Lay unit in North America helped offset sluggish demand for beverages.

Confidence among investors in Germany plunged sharply in July, the ZEW economic institute said Tuesday, reaching its lowest level since August 2012 over signs that a trade war was far from abating.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd on Tuesday said it has received US approval for its $62 billion acquisition of London-listed Shire Plc, taking the Japanese firm one step closer to its goal of becoming a global top 10 drugmaker.

Global coffee giant Starbucks announced Monday it is to eliminate all plastic straws from its 28,000 stores by 2020, becoming the latest corporate giant to take steps to combat pollution from disposable plastic.

Bajaj Auto has signed an agreement with Runner Trade Park Ltd, a sister concern of Runner Group, for the distribution of spare parts of its motorcycles and three-wheelers in Bangladesh.

Amazon will bring 1,700 new jobs to Italy by the end of the year, the online commerce giant announced Monday, bringing its number of employees working in the country's groaning economy to 5,200.