Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi called on his ruling party on Sunday to unite behind measures he has pledged to breathe life into the euro zone's third-biggest economy after years in or near recession.

Global shares prices came under pressure on Monday as oil prices briefly sank to fresh 5-1/2 year lows in choppy trade, doing little to allay concerns that some energy producers and exporters could find themselves in dire straits as revenues slump.

Asking prices for homes on sale in Britain posted the largest monthly fall on record in December but are likely to rise by between 4 and 5 percent next year, property website Rightmove said on Monday.

French hotel operator Accor announced a strategic alliance with China Lodging Group on Sunday to create a major new player in the fast-growing Chinese domestic travel and hospitality market.

Confidence among Japanese manufacturers worsened slightly in the fourth quarter and firms expect conditions to deteriorate more, highlighting the challenges premier Shinzo Abe faces in reviving the economy a day after his big win in Sunday's snap election.

Technip (TECF.PA) has ruled out making an offer for seismic surveys specialist CGG (GEPH.PA) after talks with the company failed to produce an agreement, the French oil services group said on Sunday.

Pet supply retailer PetSmart Inc succumbed to calls from some shareholders for a sale on Sunday with an agreement to be bought by a private equity consortium led by BC Partners Ltd for $8.7 billion, in the largest leveraged buyout of the year.

The court order that banned Chinese mobile maker Xiaomi from selling its phones in India has halted its breakneck expansion into the world's fastest growing major smartphone market and could be just the start of a string of patent challenges.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande urged Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko on Sunday to press ahead with reforms to facilitate an economic recovery and access to foreign aid.

Chinese financial firms are targeting purchases of distressed banking assets coming on the market in Europe, having been urged by Beijing to expand their reach beyond emerging markets.

Takata Corp. (7312.T) has begun enforcing tighter quality controls on a group of parts suppliers as the auto safety equipment maker boosts production to replace millions of air bags recalled for a potentially deadly defect, according to people involved.

Nasdaq OMX Group announced late Friday the results of its annual re-ranking of the Nasdaq 100 index, which will cause a reshuffling of several constituents.

The European Union's vaunted investment plan, due to be formally blessed by the bloc's 28 leaders at a summit this week, may be a day late and several euros short to revitalize a stagnant economy.

Oil producers group OPEC can ride out a slump in oil prices and keep output unchanged, its head said on Sunday, arguing market weakness did not reflect supply and demand fundamentals and could have been driven by speculators.

The U.S. Federal Reserve would give the clearest signal next week that its easy money stance is ending if, as some expect, it drops its two-year long pledge to keep interest rates close to zero for a "considerable time".

For the past 18 months, Americans from Albany to Oregon have voiced growing alarm over the rising number of oil-laden freight trains coursing through their cities, a trend they fear is endangering public safety.

China's economic growth could slow to 7.1 percent in 2015 from an expected 7.4 percent this year, held back by a sagging property sector, the central bank said in research report seen by Reuters on Sunday.

The U.S. Senate on Saturday passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill that lifts the threat of a government shutdown as Congress attempts to wrap up a two-year legislative session marked by bitter partisanship and few major accomplishments.

If you still have Disney's Frozen Castle and Ice Palace Playset on your holiday gift list this year, you may already be out of luck. With Christmas approaching, the $119 toy - made by Mattel Inc - is sold out. Of course, you can find it at resellers for about $225 and even as high as $700 on eBay.

A private equity consortium of Carlyle Group LP (CG.O) and Warburg Pincus LLC is in advanced talks to acquire privately held credit rating agency DBRS Ltd for more than $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

A New Jersey college said on Saturday it has completed its $18 million purchase of the shuttered Showboat Atlantic City casino resort from Caesars Entertainment Corp (CZR.O), a deal that would usher in a new dormitory and a branch campus.

Hacking of computers at Belgian telecoms firm Belgacom, alleged to have been carried out by a British spy agency, was more far-reaching than previously thought and went undetected for more than two years, according to reports published on Saturday.

An online buyer from New York overcame spirited bidding to grab a painting by modern Indian artist Tyeb Mehta for $2.8 million at a Christie's auction in Mumbai, highlighting global interest in the finest works of Indian art.

Novartis said on Friday its experimental psoriasis drug Cosentyx was better at clearing the rough skin patches associated with the disease than Johnson & Johnson's Stelara.

Early villains have emerged in the next James Bond film "SPECTRE": hackers who stole a version of the screenplay as part of a devastating cyberattack on Sony Pictures.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said the European Commission's decision to give France longer to prove it is serious about economic reform and fixing its excessive public deficit risks damaging the credibility of the bloc's budget rules.

Apollo Global Management (APO.N) is nearing a buyout of PetSmart Inc (PETM.O) for about $8 billion in what would be the largest leveraged deal for a U.S. company this year, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources.

Italian police on Friday seized 556,000 euros ($692,000) in fake euro coins minted in China from a ship container in the port city of Naples, investigators said.

Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) said on Friday it would recall 52,000 cars in Japan to investigate potential defects in Takata Corp (7312.T) air bags.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) on Friday said it was buying oil industry logistics provider Charter Brokerage from private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners.