The euro was stuck near its lowest level since November and Russian markets tumbled for a third straight day on Monday as new European sanctions for Moscow chilled the already frosty relationship between the two.

• July 28, 2014

European Union ambassadors reached a preliminary agreement on Friday to push ahead with hard-hitting economic sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis but details remained to be worked out, diplomats said.

• July 25, 2014

China's factory activity expanded at its fastest in 18 months in July, while the euro zone's private sector also perked up, but the pace of U.S. manufacturing expansion slowed.

• July 25, 2014

EU leaders seeking to agree sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine are expected to include oil technology but exclude technology for Russia's all-important gas sector, EU sources said on Friday.

• July 25, 2014

The European Union would target state-owned Russian banks vital to financing Moscow's faltering economy in the most serious sanctions so far over the Ukraine crisis under proposals considered by EU governments on Thursday.

• July 24, 2014

The cost of petrol has risen in Crimea for the first time since Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in March, despite a promise by Moscow to reduce the price.

• July 23, 2014

President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on some of Russia's biggest firms for the first time, striking at the heart of Vladimir Putin's powerbase by targeting companies closest to him over Moscow's failure to curb violence in Ukraine.

• July 17, 2014

New U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia for its actions in Ukraine will make it more difficult for Russian companies to refinance existing international loans and has dashed hopes that Russia's syndicated loan market is reopening, bankers said on Thursday.

• July 17, 2014