Tesco’s sales growth has slowed sharply since the easing of the latest coronavirus lockdown as people start to visit pubs and restaurants again, Britain’s biggest retailer said on Friday.

British retail sales fell last month on easing lockdown curbs, as people dined at bars and restaurants instead of buying food at supermarkets, data showed Friday.

Eight banks previously excluded from syndicated debt sales backing the European Commission’s up to 800-billion-euro ($950.7 billion) Covid-19 recovery fund will be allowed to take part in future issues, the EU executive said on Friday.

Japan’s central bank on Friday announced its first investment fund for efforts to address climate change, as the government works towards its new target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said on Friday he wants to keep the US central bank’s benchmark short-term interest rate near zero at least through the end of 2023 to allow the labor market to return to its pre-pandemic strength.

HSBC on Friday said it will incur a hefty charge of 1.9 billion euros with the sale of its French retail banking operations to French lender My Money Group.

Market participants are girding for probably the biggest trading event of the year next Friday, as FTSE Russell stages the final reconstitution of its indexes, and trillions of dollars in investments could be influenced by the event that will reflect a wild trading year marked by the pandemic and the “meme” stock craze.

The first storm to hit oil-producing regions of the US Gulf of Mexico this year sent workers fleeing offshore oil platforms and cut some production.

Gold purchases in India ticked up in the later part of the week after a decline in local rates, although dealers cautioned that demand is unlikely to return to normal levels soon.

Chinese automaker Geely will keep working on vehicles powered by methanol even though the effort may fail, chairman Li Shufu said on Sunday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday said she hoped that a new Group of Seven task force can present first infrastructure projects in developing countries in 2022.

Bitcoin dropped 5.71 per cent to $35,210 at 0600 GMT on Saturday, losing $2,131.11 from its previous close.

The Group of Seven nations on Sunday pledged to rapidly scale up technologies and policies that accelerate the transition away from unabated coal capacity, including ending new government support for coal power by the end of this year.

Oil prices reached fresh multi-year highs on Friday, closing out a third straight week of gains on an improved outlook for worldwide demand as rising Covid-19 vaccination rates help lift pandemic curbs.

The Group of Seven leaders on Sunday pledged to work together to tackle carbon leakage, weeks before the European Union is due to propose a world-first plan to impose CO2 emission costs on imports of certain polluting goods.

Germany on Sunday said it has taken steps towards a bilateral alliance on hydrogen production and trade with Australia to try and facilitate a renewable energy-based hydrogen supply chain between the countries.

Tax advantages paired with a life of luxury have long drawn foreigners and multinationals to the UAE, which is aiming to remain attractive whether or not it signs up to a global tax initiative.

Even in the face of rising inflation, the lackluster progress on restoring jobs lost during the pandemic means the US Federal Reserve is unlikely to budge on monetary policy when it meets next week.

The 25 US states calling an early halt to pandemic-related federal unemployment benefits have recovered more of the jobs lost during the crisis than other states, possibly limiting how much of a dent ending the weekly $300 payments will make in the national battle to fill record job vacancies.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai will travel to Britain on Wednesday and hold talks with British trade minister Elizabeth Truss after participating in a US-European Union summit and holding several bilateral meetings, her office said.