BUSINESS

High mortgage rates and the increase in the inventory of homes for sale are putting downward pressure on prices.

German car giant Volkswagen on Monday said that it was considering staff reductions, possibly in the form of early retirement, to help it meet vital cost-cutting targets imposed in its sputtering transition to electromobility.

The residential real estate market is responding to high interest rates.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed Monday to Europe to rally support for Ukraine, on a trip where he could cross paths with his Russian counterpart.

The initiatives comes after supply chain disruptions led to an acceleration of inflation after the pandemic.

Brussels on Monday gave the final green light for an EU-New Zealand trade deal that, while mutually lowering barriers for both markets, highlights the recent failure of EU-Australia negotiations.

Already difficult talks to form a government coalition in the Netherlands after Geert Wilders's shock election win were thrown into disarray Monday as the man tasked with overseeing them resigned.

Relatives of dozens of Chinese passengers who died when a Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared almost 10 years ago called Monday for a new investigation, as a Beijing court began hearing their fresh appeal for compensation.

Asian markets dipped Monday as investors look ahead to the release this week of key US inflation data that could provide a guide for the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates going into the new year.

U.S. housing data, manufacturing in China and earnings of retailers and Canadian banks are also scheduled for the next few days.

A major rescue operation was under way on Sunday for 13 people missing after a Comoros-flagged cargo ship sank in gale-force winds off the Greek Aegean island of Lesbos.

Hamas fighters were set Sunday to release a third group of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a day after freeing captives including a young woman snatched from a desert rave.

Jannik Sinner beat world number one Novak Djokovic twice in one day to send Italy into the Davis Cup final with a 2-1 win over Serbia on Saturday in Malaga.

Thousands of people took to the streets across the world on Saturday to condemn violence against women on the international day highlighting the crime.

Nicaraguan authorities have barred the director of the national beauty pageant from re-entering the country after a Nicaraguan woman seen as a symbol of opposition to the Ortega government was crowned Miss Universe, media reports and exiled opposition members said.

Hamas fighters were set to release a second group of hostages Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, officials said, as a truce largely held in the devastated Gaza Strip after seven weeks of war that killed thousands of people.

North Korean state media said Saturday leader Kim Jong Un reviewed images taken by his country's new spy satellite of a US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and "major target" sites across South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reviewed images taken by his country's new spy satellite of "major target regions" in South Korea, including its capital and cities hosting US military bases, state media said Saturday.

Cuban and Haitian migrants are increasingly taking chartered flights to Nicaragua from where they seek to travel overland to the United States, prompting Washington to impose sanctions this week on the operators of the aircraft.

Firecrackers lit up the night sky Friday as raucous celebrations -- mixed with defiance -- marked the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons in exchange for the first wave of hostages freed by Hamas in Gaza.

Amazon was hit by strikes at various locations in Britain, Germany and Italy during the annual "Black Friday" shopping extravaganza as workers demand higher wages and better working conditions.

Rioters who torched vehicles and looted shops in Dublin following a knife attack outside a school brought "shame" on Ireland, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Friday, condemning the worst violence in decades which authorities blamed on right-wing groups.

Union Verdi called on workers at online retail giant Amazon in Germany to go on strike on the annual "Black Friday" shopping extravaganza, in their battle for better working conditions.

With children and pets in their arms and their belongings loaded onto donkey carts or car roofs thousands of displaced Gazans headed home Friday as a four-day Israel-Hamas truce began.

A night of torched vehicles and shop looting sparked in Dublin after a knife attack outside a school was of an "extraordinary" level of violence unseen in decades, police said Friday.

Japanese auto giant Nissan announced Friday it would invest up to GBP2 billion in UK electric car manufacturing, which the government touted as a sign of confidence in the sector.

British music retailer HMV returns to the iconic site of its former flagship store in central London on Friday, in a much-needed boost to the flagging fortunes of the capital's premier shopping street.

Most Asian markets fell Friday following a broadly healthy week, with traders hoping for fresh Chinese moves to help the country's troubled property sector after officials called on banks to provide support.

The retail sector's efforts to entice holiday gift purchases builds to a crescendo this weekend with the annual "Black Friday" shopping day followed by the newer "Cyber Monday."