The Pakistani rupee on Monday sank to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar over forex reserve fears as the country repaid US$146 million to the International Monetary Fund. The Pakistani rupee on Monday sank to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar over forex reserve fears as the country repaid US$146 million to the International Monetary Fund.

Iran has taken delivery of several new tankers from Chinese shipyards, giving it greater flexibility in maintaining oil exports in the face of Western sanctions.

The European Commission has concluded China illegally subsidizes steel producers and wants EU members to back punitive tariffs, which could anger the bloc's second largest trading partner, trade sources said.

Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Sunday agreed to form a delegation to visit Arab capitals and ask for help in easing the Palestinian financial crisis, the pan-Arab body said.

Qatar threw Egypt an economic lifeline on Tuesday, announcing it had lent the country another US$2 billion and given it an extra US$500 million outright to help control a currency crisis.

Egypt's government must strongly endorse a US$4.8 billion IMF loan agreement to its people as a step towards stabilizing an economy pummeled by a turbulent transition from autocratic rule, the head of the world lender said on Tuesday.

Abu Dhabi has awarded a US$653 million contract to build a branch of France's Louvre museum, signaling the oil-rich emirate is again moving ahead with flamboyant development projects after a pause prompted by the global economic crisis.

Dubai is sometimes called the “City of Gold” because of its stunning growth from a sleepy Gulf port to a world-famous business crossroads in the space of a single generation. Its nickname has a literal meaning for traders in the precious metal.

An Australian citizen fighting with Syrian rebels in their battle against President Bashar al-Assad's regime has been killed in the northwest of the country, a watchdog said on Wednesday.

Spanish lender Bankia will wipe out 350,000 shareholders, many of them small savers with little knowledge of financial markets, after it emerged it had a negative value of 4.2 billion euros (US$5.6 billion).