Global equities traded sideways and the dollar bounced as investors braced for a crucial U.S.

The dollar was on track for its best performance in seven years on Friday, having been buoyed by the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy tightening and concerns about the global growth outlook.

European shares rose for a second straight session on Thursday, boosted by financial and energy stocks, as investors cheered improving consumer sentiment in the United States after inflation expectations eased.

Euro zone business activity shrank at the slowest pace in four months in December, suggesting a likely recession ahead will be shallower than previously thought, a survey showed on Friday, while prices rose at the most modest rate in about a year.

British inflation slowed more than expected in November but remained near the highest level in more than 40 years, official data showed Wednesday, as a cost-of-living crisis sparks fresh UK strikes.

European shares fell for the fifth straight session on Thursday, bogged down by weakness in telecom and real estate sectors amid growing fears of an impending recession.

This was supposed to be the comeback year for the world economy following the Covid pandemic.

Unemployment in the eurozone has dropped to a record low, at 6.5 percent in October, the EU's Eurostat statistics office said Thursday.

European equities and the euro rose Wednesday as eurozone inflation slowed but remained elevated on high energy costs.

European equities mostly fell Thursday with London on tenterhooks before a painful UK budget set to rip up the country's economic forecasts.

Euro zone yields were higher on Friday after plunging the day before when U.S.

The EU warned Friday the eurozone was set to fall into recession this winter as Brussels hiked inflation forecasts for 2022 and 2023 on the back of high energy prices.

European workers squeezed by the soaring cost of living went on strike in Belgium and Greece on Wednesday, with stoppages threatening to paralyse parts of Britain, France and Spain in coming days.

Euro zone inflation surged more than expected in October, data showed on Monday, fuelling expectations that the European Central Bank will press on with big interest rate hikes despite economic growth slowing.

Italy posted better-than-expected quarterly growth on Monday, a surprise bump for new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that staves off -- for now -- an expected recession in Europe's third-largest economy.

Germany's economy unexpectedly grew in the third quarter, official data showed Friday, but slowing growth in France and Spain added to fears that high inflation and an energy crisis will tip the region into recession.

Italian inflation surged to a new record high in October, data showed on Friday, underscoring the economic challenges facing new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and increasing the risk of a further rise in the euro zone as a whole.

Eurozone inflation stood at just under 10 percent in September, nearly five times the ECB's two-percent target.

Banks in the euro zone would be required to provide 'instant payments' in the single currency 24/7 under draft European Union rules seen by Reuters.

European stocks and the pound climbed Monday as markets awaited confirmation that former finance minister Rishi Sunak would become Britain's new prime minister.

Germany, the EU's top economy and Europe's export powerhouse, looks headed for imminent recession, according to a closely watched survey Monday that pointed to a deepening eurozone contraction.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss's humiliating budget U-turn shows how markets can wield influence over government fiscal policy.

Euro zone borrowing costs fell on Thursday as investors paused for breath ahead of key U.S. economic data after driving government bond yields to fresh multi-year highs.

Google has revealed a few vital pieces of information about the metal watch straps that it will sell alongside the Pixel Watch.

From 1925, the Bank of England had kept interest rates high to keep the pound at a fixed parity to gold

The pile of negative-yielding euro zone government bonds is close to disappearing, Tradeweb showed on Monday, the latest sign that bond yields are firmly on an upward trajectory as major central banks ramp up rate hikes to contain inflation.

European stock markets climbed Friday but the pound and euro fell as traders assessed mixed growth and inflation data.

Eurozone consumer prices skyrocketed by a record 10 percent in September, official data showed on Friday.

Euro zone government bond yields rose on Thursday as German data shifted the market focus to surging inflation, while gilt investors resumed selling after the Bank of England (BoE) stepped in to quell a storm the day before.

Almost every week now, European governments are announcing emergency measures to protect households and businesses from the energy crisis stemming from Russia's war in Ukraine.