Ukraine's parliament gave preliminary approval on Thursday to a law that would simplify tax legislation and impose additional duties on imports, in an effort to raise revenue amid economic crisis.

China will simplify currency rules and step up credit support for firms investing overseas, the cabinet said on Wednesday. It was the government's latest move to encourage use of excess factory capacity at home and help local firms grow globally.

Japan aims to give a quick boost to lagging regional economies and low-income households with subsidies, merchandise vouchers and other schemes in a $29 billion stimulus package aimed at rejuvenating a two-year reflationary effort, a draft of the plan showed.

Japan, fearing it could be a soft target for possible North Korean cyberattacks in the escalating row over the Sony Pictures hack, has begun working to ensure basic infrastructure is safe and to formulate its diplomatic response, officials said.

South Korea has indicted the chief executive officer and local subsidiary of Uber Technologies Inc for violating a law governing public transport, becoming the latest jurisdiction to challenge the U.S. taxi service provider.

Russia's rouble strengthened on Thursday as exporters sold foreign currency in response to government pressure and to meet tax payments, but trading volumes were thin as many Western markets were closed for the Christmas Day holidays.

China's economy is creating more than 13 million new jobs this year, the Xinhua news agency cited the labor ministry as saying on Thursday, outstripping the official target despite slower economic growth.

Fuji Heavy Industries (7270.T), the maker of Subaru brand cars and SUVs, has scrapped a plan to shift production of the new XV Crosstrek to its U.S. plant and will instead make the SUV in Japan, a source familiar with the company's production plans said.

A fund managed by JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) is in advanced talks to partner with Indian carrier SpiceJet Ltd's (SPJT.BO) co-founder for a planned $200 million investment into the cash-strapped airline, the Economic Times reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the discussions.

Google Inc's decision to screen Sony Pictures' film "The Interview" may help legitimize its YouTube platform as a serious rival to paid video streaming services, Netflix and Amazon.com Inc.

The head of Sears Holdings Corp's online operations and a key member of Chief Executive Eddie Lampert's management team has resigned and will leave the company in February to pursue a new opportunity, the retailer said.

The European Central Bank has told Austria's Volksbanken group to strengthen its balance sheet by next July as it rushes to wind down its flagship unit and plug a capital hole exposed by this year's health checks on euro zone banks.

Chinese investment banks have awarded pay rises to their staff for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis, buoyed by a surge in China-related deals, but salaries and bonuses still trail far behind those paid by Western banks.

Italy's government on Wednesday began drawing up the details of a reform that Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said will "revolutionize" the country's labor market when it takes effect some time next year.

Billboards, which trace their roots to ancient Egypt, are set to generate a boom in U.S. deal activity as the biggest operators seek to expand in regional markets, investment banking sources said.

U.S. consumers have not turned out in force for the final shopping days before Christmas, suggesting that traditional retailers will just meet industry sales forecasts in a season marked by deep discounts and growing encroachment from online rivals led by Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).

The proposed merger of Sysco Corp (SYY.N) and US Foods Inc [USFOO.UL] hinges on the top two U.S. food companies helping to turn a far smaller rival into a national player to ease antitrust concerns, but the gap may be too big, analysts said.

Bid speculation drove up the shares of medical devices maker Smith & Nephew (SN.L) on Wednesday, allowing it to outpace sluggish European stock markets in a shortened session ahead of the Christmas break.

Kellogg Co K.N., the world's largest breakfast cereal maker, once again raised its bid for Egyptian snackmaker Bisco Misr (BISM.CA) on Wednesday, topping a rival offer from the UAE's Abraaj in an intensifying $144 million takeover battle.

Facing a slump in the mail it had been delivering since the days of America's Revolutionary War, in 2012 the U.S. Postal Service began aggressively targeting e-commerce and lapsed customers as the way to salvage its declining business.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) will buy Citigroup Inc's (C.N) Japanese retail banking operations in October for about 40 billion yen ($330 million), people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

American Airlines Group Inc said Tuesday that it plans to pay flight attendants an additional four percentage points on top of raises already averaging 10 percent, thanks to profits that have strengthened as oil prices have collapsed.

Japanese stocks rallied and the dollar stood tall on Wednesday thanks to surprisingly robust U.S. economic growth, helping investors head into the Christmas holidays in a more relaxed mood after the global markets turbulence of the past two weeks.

Largest Canadian insurer Manulife Financial Corp's (MFC.TO) U.S. unit will buy New York Life Insurance Co's retirement services business for an undisclosed amount.

China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the world's largest e-commerce company, spent over 1 billion yuan ($160.7 million) combating fake goods and for improving customer protection from the beginning of 2013 to the end of November, the firm said Tuesday.

Sony Pictures will allow "The Interview" to play in more than 200 U.S. theaters as of Christmas Day, reversing its decision to pull the film, after coming under criticism from President Barack Obama and others for caving into pressure from North Korea.

China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the world's largest e-commerce company, spent over 1 billion yuan ($160.7 million) combating fake goods and for improving customer protection from the beginning of 2013 to the end of November, the firm said Tuesday.

Arab OPEC producers expect global oil prices to rebound to between $70 and $80 a barrel by the end of next year as a global economic recovery revives demand, OPEC delegates said this week in the first indication of where the group expects oil markets to ‎stabilize in the medium term.

Some major U.S. airlines including Delta and Southwest are rushing to finance losing bets on oil and revamp fuel hedges as tumbling crude prices leave them with billions of dollars in losses, according to people familiar with the hedging schemes.

Procter & Gamble Co said it would sell its soap brands Camay and Zest to Unilever Plc for an undisclosed amount to focus on its faster-growing brands.