Belgium on Wednesday rejected a plan to use frozen Russian assets to help prop up Ukraine's economy and war effort over the next two years, saying that the scheme poses major financial and legal risks.

Ukraine's budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated to total around 130 billion euros ($150 billion). The European Union has committed to fill the gap. It has already poured in over 170 billion euros ($197 billion) since the war started in 2022.

The U.S. stock market held steady on Tuesday as both bond yields and bitcoin stabilized.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% following its first loss in six days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 185 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%.

Former Central Bank governor Riad Salameh asserted in an interview with Al-Arabiya Business that he has become a “scapegoat” for the financial crisis that has plagued Lebanon in recent years, denying any connection to depositors' losses or the collapse of the banking sector.

Salameh stated that he is not implicated in any of the legal cases pending in Lebanon, France, or any other European country, noting that the Syrian war cost Lebanon $25-30 billion.

Shares in Europe are mixed following gains in most Asian markets.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were nearly unchanged ahead of Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.

Iran will introduce a new gasoline price tier on Dec. 6, raising the cost of fuel purchased beyond monthly quotas to 50,000 rials (about 4 cents on the Iranian exchange market) per liter, officials said, in a shift that adds a third pricing level to the country's long-running subsidy system.

Under the revised structure, motorists will continue to receive 60 liters per month at the subsidized rate of 15,000 rials. A second tier of 100 liters will remain available for 30,000 rials.

The soil surrounding the gas facility in Ukraine was once pitch-black before it was burned to a rusty red by a massive Russian drone and missile assault.

Scattered remnants of Shahed drones littered the reservoir designated for storing tanks of liquefied propane gas. Nearly a month after the Oct. 30 attack, several tanks lay empty and in ruins.

Following weeks of speculation and mixed signals, Britain's center-left government will deliver a budget Wednesday aimed at pleasing financial markets, businesses and jaded voters — an all-but-impossible task for an already unpopular administration.

In her second annual budget since the Labour Party returned to power after 14 years with a landslide election victory in July 2024, Treasury chief Rachel Reeves is set to tell lawmakers that more tax-raising measures are necessary to plug a hole in the public finances.

The European Union must ramp up efforts to break its dependence on China for rare earths faced with export curbs that amount to a "racket" by Beijing, the bloc's industry chief said Tuesday.

"It is high time for Europe to step up its game. To redouble its efforts to reduce our dependencies on China," European Commission vice president Stephane Sejourne told EU lawmakers.

President Donald Trump has further loosened tariffs on Brazil as part of his effort to lower consumer costs for Americans. The decision, released Thursday, affects coffee, fruit and beef, among other goods.

The White House said last week that Trump was rolling back some worldwide tariffs that were originally announced in April.

Japan's global exports rose 3.7% in October from a year earlier while imports from the world edged up 0.6%, according to government data released Friday.

Exports to the U.S. dipped 3.1%, marking the seventh straight month of year-on-year declines mainly due to higher U.S. tariffs, Finance Ministry data showed.