IBT Staff Reporter

Canada posted a blockbuster job gain in February, easily beating expectations and more than wiping out January's decline, while the unemployment rate dropped below its pre-pandemic level for the first time, data from Statistics Canada showed on Friday.

Gold prices are likely to rise to record highs as the risk that Russia's attack on Ukraine will stifle the global economy increases demand for the metal traditionally seen as a safe store of wealth, analysts said.

Russian producer Surgutneftegaz has allowed Chinese buyers to receive oil without providing guarantees known as letters of credit (LC) in order to bypass Western sanctions, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

Sri Lanka will begin talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next month on a plan to help the crisis-hit country, including assistance with debt restructuring and managing its foreign exchange shortage, three sources said on Friday.

Sri Lanka will begin talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next month on a plan to help the crisis-hit country, where a foreign exchange shortage has squeezed essential imports amid looming debt payments, three sources said on Friday.

Eni and BP have completed a deal to merge their oil and gas operations in Angola, the groups said on Friday, confirming what sources earlier exclusively told Reuters.

For Russians in Ukraine, their homeland feels like the enemy

Before he left for the front, Ukrainian military reservist Viktor Dudar hugged his wife Oksana and told her not to worry.

Ukraine conflict must not spark NATO-Russia war: Stoltenberg to AFP

Boeing Co is yet to see any respite from a freeze in deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner - but that has not stopped it testing suppliers' capacity to meet output scenarios as high as seven a month by end-2023, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

Deep under the streets of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine hundreds of people are sheltering from fierce Russian bombardment, occupying the Heroiv Pratsi metro station where they do what they can to get comfortable.

U.S. ethanol producers are betting heavily on carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to lower their greenhouse gas emissions and secure a place for the corn-based fuel in a climate-friendly future, according to industry groups and executives.

UBS aims to cut its financing of fossil fuel emissions by more than two-thirds by 2030, Switzerland's biggest bank said on Friday, joining lenders setting targets for the first time this year.

Russian demands threaten to derail Iran nuclear talks

Establishing humanitarian corridors in Ukraine for evacuations and aid is the "bare minimum" to be done now, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday, adding it was important for the top Russian and Ukrainian diplomats to have met.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that humanitarian corridors constituted the "bare minimum" of what Ukraine needs at this moment, and called on Russia to withdraw its forces and engage in diplomatic efforts in good faith.

A Turkish court on Friday sentenced journalist Sedef Kabas to more than two years in prison after ruling that she insulted the president, despite a ruling by Europe's top rights court that the relevant law should be amended to safeguard free expression.

U.S. stock index futures jumped on Friday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said there were "certain positive shifts" in talks with Ukraine, lifting mood at the end of a roller-coaster week marked by concerns about geopolitical tensions and surging oil prices.

Wall Street's main indexes were set for a higher open on Friday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said there were "certain positive shifts" in talks with Ukraine, at the end of a week roiled by geopolitical tensions and inflation angst.

The S&P 500 struggled for direction on Friday at the end of a week roiled by geopolitical tensions and inflation angst, with shares of Meta Platforms slipping after Russia opened a criminal case against the Facebook parent.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indexes fell on Friday at the end of a volatile week on escalating tensions in Ukraine and worries over higher inflation, with focus turning to one of the most-anticipated Federal Reserve's policy meetings next week.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell on Friday as tech and growth shares weighed and investors worried about the conflict in Ukraine and higher inflation as attention turned to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week.

Major U.S. stock indexes stumbled on Friday as tech and growth shares led a broad decline and investors worried about the conflict in Ukraine while attention turned to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week.

Chinese city locks down, Shanghai shuts schools as Covid spikes

Eastern Europe's volunteer-driven aid effort to help Ukrainians was coming under growing strain on Friday, with some cities running out of accommodation as the number of refugees passed 2.5 million and fierce fighting in Ukraine raged unabated.

Eastern Europe's efforts to aid Ukrainians came under strain on Friday, with some cities running out of accommodation as the number of refugees passed 2.5 million and fighting in their homeland.

Gold eased on Friday, consolidating at the end of a volatile week as investors sized up potential rate hikes from the U.S.

Gold retreated on Friday as investors focused on the likelihood that U.S.

Gold retreated on Friday as Russian President Vladimir Putin's comments on making some progress in talks with Ukraine eased demand for the safe-haven asset that was further pressured by the likelihood that the U.S.