- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
Oil spikes as Russia cuts output after Western price cap
Oil soared Friday after Russia slashed its crude output in response to a Western price cap that was imposed on exports after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Europe's benchmark Brent oil and US counterpart WTI crude jumped more than two percent after Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak cut production by 500,000 barrels per day, or five percent of output.
"Crude prices reacted positively to the news, considering that so far Russian oil production has been relatively resilient," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
"The move ... aims to improve oil revenues by narrowing the discount of Russian oil to Brent."
Russia is part of an alliance with OPEC that meets regularly to decide on oil output levels.
An EU-wide ban on Russia oil products -- like diesel, gasoline and jet fuel -- came into effect Sunday alongside a Group of Seven (G7) price cap on the same items.
That expanded on the EU embargo on seaborne oil deliveries introduced two months ago -- when it also established with G7 partners a $60-dollar-per-barrel cap for Russian exports.
Oil, already winning strong support in recent weeks from top consumer China's economic reopening from the pandemic, rebounded further on the news from Novak, who in charge of Moscow's energy policy.
Elsewhere on Friday, stock markets mostly sank on US interest rate hike fears after last week's blockbuster jobs report, and despite news that Britain has avoided recession.
While US data in recent months has shown inflation is coming down, the employment figures showed the economy remained robust, leading several top Federal Reserve officials to warn much more work was needed to get prices under control.
Having spent January optimistic that the days of central bank tightening would soon come to an end, traders have been brought back down to earth this month as they contemplate borrowing costs going higher and staying there longer than previously expected.
That stoked fears the world's top economy could tip into a prolonged downturn.
- UK skirts recession -
London investors set aside news that the UK economy averted recession in the final three months of the year by registering zero growth, having contracted in the prior quarter.
Finance minister Jeremy Hunt welcomed the news but warned about sky-high consumer prices that have sparked a cost-of-living crisis.
"We are not out the woods yet, particularly when it comes to inflation," he added.
Bucking the downward stock markets trend, Tokyo rose Friday on a weaker yen, though the currency rallied after the market closed on reports that the Japanese government would nominate Kazuo Ueda to replace Haruhiko Kuroda as head of the country's central bank.
Ueda is an economist and former member of the Band of Japan policy board. But analysts said the yen's advance may be more to do with the fact deputy governor Masayoshi Amamiya would not take the post, which would have likely seen a continuation of the current dovish approach.
- Key figures around 1200 GMT -
Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.3 percent at $86.48 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.5 percent at $80.01 per barrel
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 7,855.89 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.6 percent at 15,274.40
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.4 percent at 7,091.18
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.6 percent at 4,181.98
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 27,670.98 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.0 percent at 21,190.42 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,260.67 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 33,699.88 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0703 from $1.0740 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2107 from $1.2121
Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.39 pence from 88.61 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 130.84 yen from 131.59 yen
burs-rfj/rl
Y.Ibrahim--CPN