Chinese officials warned a delegation of top U.S. executives visiting Beijing this week that higher tariffs on imports from China will harm their businesses inside the country.

The delegation of influential business people belonging to the U.S. China Business Council, including the CEOs of FedEx and Micron, followed a top-level meeting last week where ruling Communist Party leaders endorsed a blueprint for policies that included numerous pledges to improve the business environment for foreign investors. But they also vowed greater vigilance in protecting state secrets, a potential minefield for foreign businesses that face intense scrutiny of their China operations by authorities.

In the crush of anti-government protests paralyzing downtown Buenos Aires in the last months, some Argentines saw a traffic-induced headache. Others saw a reaction to President Javier Milei's brutal austerity measures.

Alejandra, a street vendor, saw people with nowhere to urinate.

Coca-Cola is raising its full-year sales guidance after a stronger-than-expected second quarter boosted by continued price increases.

The Atlanta beverage giant said Tuesday it now expects organic sales to grow between 9% and 10% this year, up from 8% to 9% previously.

China's central bank cut key interest rates in a surprise move Monday aimed at injecting new life into its ailing property sector, while the ruling Communist Party released details of a top-level meeting focused on strategies for revving up the slowing economy.

The People's Bank of China cut the five-year loan prime rate, which is a benchmark for mortgages, by 10 basis points to 3.85% from 3.95%. The one-year loan prime rate, or LPR, was reduced to 3.35% from 3.45%.

European markets opened with gains Monday after President Joe Biden exited the 2024 race, while Asian shares mostly fell.

Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take on former President Donald Trump, adding to uncertainties over the future of the world's largest economy.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised a tentative deal between Serbia and the European Union signed on Friday that paves the way for the disputed excavation of lithium, a mega project that could reduce Europe's dependency on China but one that has been fiercely criticized by environmentalists and opposition groups.

Scholz attended a "critical raw materials summit" in the Serbian capital where a memorandum of understanding between the EU and Serbia's government on a "strategic partnership" on sustainable raw materials, battery supply chains and electric vehicles was signed.

Shares retreated in Europe and Asia on Friday after a broad washout across Wall Street dragged U.S. stocks lower.

Widespread IT outages disrupted travel and communications around the world, causing flight delays and cancellations.

Leaders of 18 Pacific island nations and areas agreed to an enhanced role of Japan in the region's development while opposing any attempted coercive activity, in a joint declaration adopted at their summit Thursday, as Tokyo seeks greater engagement to counter China's influence.

The Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting, or PALM, launched under a Japanese initiative in 1997, has become Japan's key diplomatic tool to deter China's security and economic influence in the region by strengthening its ties with the Pacific Island Forum members, stressing its willingness to stand by them and maintaining unity as an equal partner.

China's ruling Communist Party wrapped up a top-level meeting on Thursday by endorsing policies aimed at advancing the country's technological power and fortifying its national security.

A statement released when the four-day meeting ended provided only a broad-brush summary. More details are likely to emerge in the coming days.

The European Central Bank left its key interest rate benchmark unchanged Thursday as its rate-setting council and President Christine Lagarde take their time to make sure stubborn inflation is firmly under control before lowering rates again.

The decision leaves the deposit rate at 3.75%, where it has stood after a single quarter-point cut rate at the previous meeting on June 6.