Crude prices surged higher Friday as oil fields in Iraq came under attack and US Donald Trump demanded Iran's unconditional surrender, while stocks slumped after data showed a surprise drop in jobs in the United States.
US retail sales declined by 0.2 percent in January, according to delayed government data released on Friday, missing some analysts' expectations amid persistent concerns that consumption in the world's biggest economy is slowing.
Global energy prices have shot upwards after the US and Israel unleashed war in the Middle East, but just how far those shocks will ripple across the economy remains unclear.
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Economy
A surge in natural gas prices since the Middle East war erupted has sparked renewed debate about Europe's electricity market, where prices are still linked to gas.
March 06, 2026
RECENT NEWS
A US submarine this week torpedoing an Iranian warship during the Middle East conflict raised the crucial question of who controls the seas during wartime.
March 06, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon Friday as Israel and the United States stepped up their attacks in the spawling Middle East war, with powerful explosions shattering the skies of Tehran.
March 06, 2026
Italian skier Laura Pirovano finally claimed her first World Cup victory on Friday by winning the first of two downhills on home snow in Val di Fassa.
March 06, 2026
Iranian drone strikes on Azerbaijan have raised fears that the Middle East war could spill into the Caucasus, as Baku, an ally of Israel, vows to respond.
March 06, 2026
Politics
Israel's air superiority over Iranian skies in the war with the Islamic republic reflects decades of strategic thinking and a singular partnership with Washington, experts told AFP.
March 06, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Hungary will expel seven detained Ukrainians, the government said Friday, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded threats in a row over stalled Russian oil supplies.
Nepal's centrist party of rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah took an early lead in the high-stakes parliamentary election on Friday, as slow counting continued after the first polls since last year's deadly uprising.
Global stock markets fluctuated and oil prices jumped Friday at the end of a volatile week's trading unleashed by the Middle East conflict.
German aviation giant Lufthansa warned Friday it faced a more uncertain outlook because of the unfolding Middle East conflict, and that the fallout showed how vulnerable air traffic remains to geopolitical shocks.
March 06, 2026
Politics
Fresh Israeli strikes on Friday battered Lebanon, where Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned "a humanitarian disaster is looming" due to mass displacement.
March 06, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai will not appeal against the national security conviction for which he was jailed for 20 years last month, his legal team said on Friday without providing a reason.
A retired general who criticises the EU, wants to send home illegal migrants and says Ukraine should accept a peace deal with Russia is challenging Italy's hard-right government on its own turf.
China's leaders are "clearly aware" of challenges facing growth, the head of the country's top economic planning body said on Friday, vowing to boost sluggish domestic consumption.
Kyiv accused Budapest of kidnapping seven of its citizens on Friday, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would use "every means" to pressure Ukraine in an escalating row over stalled Russian oil supplies.
March 06, 2026
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