Bitcoin, the dominant digital currency, extended a slump Wednesday following a recent surge to trade below $10,000 for the first time since the start of December.

Around 1410 GMT, bitcoin stood at $9,807.56 to record its lowest value since December 1 and a plunge of almost 50 percent since reaching a record high on December 18, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Germany's Volkswagen said Wednesday it sold a record number of vehicles in 2017, putting it on track to hold on to the title of world's largest carmaker two years after its "dieselgate" emissions scandal.

Leading economists from France and Germany on Wednesday called for new fiscal rules for the eurozone and the creation of an independent watchdog to help to make the single currency more resilient against crises in the future.

Bitcoin, the best known of hundreds of 'virtual' coins, slumped Tuesday to a six-week low below $12,000 as analysts blamed a rush by various jurisdictions to regulate the sector.

The British government on Tuesday defended its decision not to bail out imploding construction-to-catering group Carillion, as criticism grew of its handling of the giant firm's demise.

General Motors announced Tuesday it will take a $7 billion hit due to the U.S. tax reform but expects earnings this year to be comparable to the solid results in 2017.

Norway's $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, has excluded nine groups, including the UK's military equipment maker BAE Systems, from its portfolio based on ethical grounds, the Norwegian central bank said on Tuesday. 

Airbus said Monday that it might have to end production of the double-decker A380 superjumbo jet, having booked no new orders for the plane in two years.

Even with President Donald Trump continuing to waive nuclear sanctions, Iran's economy remains hobbled by U.S. restrictions but some diplomats in Tehran remain quietly confident for the future. 

Canada would welcome an extension of continental trade negotiations beyond a current March deadline, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday in response to the proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump.