Saudi Arabia's oil minister said on Sunday non-cooperation by producers outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the actions of speculators had led to the oil price fall, but he was confident the market would improve.

China's trade minister proposed more use of China's currency in settling trade with Russia in the face of a falling rouble to ensure safe and reliable trade, Hong Kong broadcaster Phoenix TV reported on Saturday.

Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena expects to complete its planned capital increase by July and can use divestments to help plug a hole in its balance sheet, Chairman Alessandro Profumo told an Austrian newspaper.

Office-supply retailer Staples Inc (SPLS.O) said about 1.16 million payment cards might have been affected by the data breach announced in October.

Flipkart, India's largest online retailer, on Saturday said it had raised funding worth $700 million, as it tries to compete with Amazon, which is rapidly scaling up operations in the country.

Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial plans to raise its full takeover offer for Australia's Transfield Services Ltd, daily financial newspaper Expansion reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources.

The owners of Urenco are testing the market to gauge investor interest in the uranium enrichment company, said Uwe Beckmeyer, parliamentary state secretary in the German economy and energy ministry.

U.S. Pfizer is unlikely to come back with a fresh bid for AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals group's top executive was quoted as saying by Swedish business daily Dagens Industri on Saturday.

Satellite TV provider DISH Network Corp and Comcast Corp's SportsNet have reached a deal allowing the cable giant's regional sports networks to remain on-air for DISH subscribers, the two companies said on Saturday.

Shoppers filled up malls and department stores on the last weekend before Christmas, as the weather cooperated to help raise the prospect of a solid finish to a holiday season that has so far produced mixed results.

Alstom (ALSO.PA) shareholders on Friday backed with 99.2 percent of votes the French engineering group's plan to sell most of its power equipment business to General Electric (GE.N) and refocus on its smaller rail arm.

Family Dollar Inc (FDO.N) will delay a shareholder vote on the potential acquisition by Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR.O), CNBC said, citing sources. Family Dollar will start the shareholder meeting and then adjourn it, CNBC said.

A merger between oilfield services provider C&J Energy Services Inc (CJES.N) with a unit of Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR.N) can proceed, Delaware's supreme court ruled on Friday.

Fitness tracking wristband maker Fitbit Inc is in talks with banks for its initial public offering in the United States, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

U.S. weapons maker Raytheon Co (RTN.N) has won a contract valued at $2.4 billion to supply 10 Patriot missile defense systems to Qatar, which is beefing up its defenses to counter a growing perceived threat from Iran.

Canadian performance company Cirque du Soleil has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) to help in its previously disclosed effort to find a strategic partner, a spokeswoman for the company said on Friday.

A federal judge on Friday rejected Hewlett-Packard Co's (HPQ.N) proposed settlement of shareholder litigation involving the information technology company's botched acquisition of Autonomy Plc.

Of every $10 spent on healthcare in the U.S., almost 90 cents is due to smoking, a new analysis says. Using recent health and medical spending surveys, researchers calculated that 8.7 percent of all healthcare spending, or $170 billion a year, is for illness caused by tobacco smoke, and public programs like Medicare and Medicaid paid for most of these costs.

AstraZeneca Plc's ovarian cancer drug has been granted an accelerated approval by the U.S. health regulator, a day after the treatment was approved by the European Commission.

BlackBerry Ltd (BB.TO) is working with Boeing Co (BA.N) on Boeing's high-security Android-based smartphone, the Canadian mobile technology company's chief executive said on Friday.

The U.S. dollar hit its highest level against major currencies in over 8-1/2 years on Friday on diverging monetary policy between the Federal Reserve and other major central banks, and bullish dollar positions heading into the end of the year.

Investors have wrung their hands over the last several weeks over the effect of lower oil prices on the broader S&P 500, but the relationship between the two is actually starting to break down.

General Motors Co (GM.N) has developed contingency plans in case recalls of potentially lethal Takata-made air bag inflators widens, forcing the U.S. automaker to repair millions of vehicles, the company said on Friday.

World markets are ending their last full week of 2014 on a high, as Wall Street made its biggest two-day advance since late 2011 and European shares headed for their strongest week of the year.

Washington state Governor Jay Inslee on Thursday proposed a new tax on capital gains to try to close a projected budget shortfall of more than $2 billion, rolling back on a no-new-taxes campaign pledge.

A major capital markets creditor of bankrupt San Bernardino, California, will oppose any exit plan that is more favorable to Calpers, California's public pension fund, a source familiar with the creditor's strategy said on Thursday.

Oil major Shell (RDSa.L) said on Thursday it had sold parts of its Norwegian downstream business to Finnish fuel firm ST1 for an undisclosed sum, further divesting parts of its downstream activities.

Xerox Corp (XRX.N) said it agreed to sell its information technology outsourcing arm to French IT services firm Atos SE (ATOS.PA) for $1.05 billion, sending its shares up almost 4 percent in late trade on Thursday.

Two of Europe's top three remaining telecommunications equipment companies, Nokia Networks (NOK1V.HE) and Alcatel-Lucent (ALUA.PA), have revived talks on a possible merger, Germany's Manager Magazin reported on Thursday, citing company sources.

Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (ATDb.TO) will buy smaller U.S. rival Pantry Inc (PTRY.O) for about $861 million, a deal that positions it as one of the top convenience store operators in North America.