Russia's 2014 oil output hit a post-Soviet record high average of 10.58 million barrels per day (bpd), rising by 0.7 percent helped by small non-state producers, Energy Ministry data showed on Friday.

• January 2, 2015

Foreign automakers in China may struggle to dictate sales goals in the future after dealers complained to the government that inflexible targets set during a market boom obliged them to buy too much stock and bear the brunt of a drop in demand

• December 30, 2014

A wave of risk aversion swept through global markets on Tuesday, with light volume magnifying moves, as end-of-year trades focused on worries about Greece's future in the euro zone, pushing shares lower and lifting the safe-haven yen, silver and gold.

• December 30, 2014

A Russian court gave Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny a suspended sentence on Tuesday for embezzling money but jailed his brother for three and a half years in a case seen as part of a campaign to stifle dissent.

• December 30, 2014

Russia's economy shrank sharply in November and the rouble resumed its slide on Monday as Western sanctions and a slump in oil prices combined to inflict the first contraction in GDP since the global financial crisis.

• December 29, 2014

Crude oil prices tumbled on Monday, with Brent and U.S. crude hitting their lowest levels since May 2009, reversing early gains on selling by investors convinced that supply disruptions in Libya would not offset a global supply glut.

• December 29, 2014

As U.S. and European sanctions piled pressure on Russia earlier this year, the Kremlin hit back with an unusual weapon: apples.

• December 28, 2014

China's central government fully approves of the leadership of Hong Kong's chief executive Leung Chun-ying and the work of the territory's government which has shown itself "unafraid of challenges", Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday.

• December 26, 2014