Turkmenistan and Iran on Wednesday signed a contract for the delivery of 10 billion cubic meters a year of Turkmen gas that Iran will then ship on to Iraq.

The deal was announced by Turkmenistan's foreign ministry, which did not state the monetary worth of the contract.

As Iran's runoff presidential election nears, comments by an official in the campaign of reformist Masoud Pezeshkian raised the possibility of his government increasing government-set gasoline prices — a move that has sparked nationwide protests in the past.

While still tentative, economists long have warned Iran needs to overhaul its system of subsidies, estimated to cost the Islamic Republic tens of billions of dollars a year. In 2019, a similar hike triggered mass demonstrations and a bloody crackdown that grew even more intense after the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini.

After the United States passed new subsidies designed to boost domestic electric vehicle production and cut into Beijing's supply chain dominance, Chinese manufacturers began investing in an unlikely place: Morocco.

In the rolling hills near Tangiers and in industrial parks near the Atlantic Ocean, they have announced plans for new factories to make parts for EVs that may qualify for $7,500 credits to car buyers in the United States.

Tesla's global sales fell for the second straight quarter despite price cuts and low-interest financing offers, another sign of weakening demand for the company's products and electric vehicles overall.

The Austin, Texas, company said Tuesday that it sold 443,956 vehicles from April through June, down 4.8% from 466,140 sold the same period a year ago. But the sales were better than the 436,000 that analysts had expected.

Egypt's new Cabinet was sworn in Wednesday as the country faces an ailing economy and raging conflicts in neighboring nations.

The new Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly, who has been in office since 2018, included major changes, particularly in the defense and economy-related portfolios. Some ministers, including those in charge of police and tourism, remain in place.

Japan issued its first new banknotes in two decades Wednesday, yen packed with 3-D hologram technology to fight counterfeiting.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida praised as "historic" the state-of-the-art anti-counterfeit traits of the new 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen and 1,000 yen bills.

Global shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after comments by Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell raised hopes for interest rate cuts.

Speaking at a conference of central bankers in Portugal a day earlier, Powell gave a nod to improvements in inflation data after some disappointingly high readings early in the year. Investors hope inflation will slow enough to convince the Fed to lower its main interest rate, which has been sitting at its highest level in more than two decades and pressing the brakes on the economy.

One of France's biggest news channels, BFMTV, was bought by billionaire shipping magnate Rodolphe Saade after the takeover was approved by regulators.

Saade's CMA CGM Group announced the surprise buy-out of Altice Media, which owns BFMTV and the RMC radio station, in March for 1.55 billion euros ($1.66 billion).

Shares advanced on Monday in Europe, with the benchmark in Paris up 2.8% briefly after the far-right National Rally gained a strong lead in first-round legislative elections.

Other European markets opened higher, while most Asian markets also gained.

Surveys of Chinese factory managers showed a mixed outlook for the world's second-largest economy in June, with growth steady but not picking up much steam.

The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing's official purchasing managers index, or PMI, remained at 49.5, the same as in May, on a scale up to 100 where 50 marks the cut off for expansion.