VENTURE CAPITAL POST

French tech startups managed to secure almost 1 billion euros in funding last year, establishing the country’s place in the European tech landscape. Most investments were still made by domestic investors, although there are prominent foreign investors involved in big fundings.

U.S. economic growth braked more sharply than initially thought in the fourth quarter amid a moderate increase in business inventories and a wider trade deficit, but strong domestic demand brightened the outlook.

China announced fresh support measures on Friday for its slowing economy after data showed a worrying drop in bank lending and foreign investment growth falling to a two-year low.

The U.S. economy grew at a much faster pace than initially thought in the third quarter, pointing to strengthening fundamentals that should help it weather slowing global demand.

Annual growth in China's exports and imports slowed in October, data showed on Saturday, reinforcing signs of fragility in the world's second-largest economy that could prompt policymakers to roll out more stimulus measures.

The lone Federal Reserve policymaker to dissent against the U.S. central bank's decision this week to end its bond-buying stimulus said Friday that the Fed was risking its credibility by failing to take action against a worrisome drop in inflation.

U.S. consumer spending fell for the first time in eight months in September, suggesting the economy lost some momentum heading into the fourth quarter.

Japanese life insurers are looking to buy more foreign bonds in the six months to March as yields on domestic bonds have fallen to uneconomical levels due to the Bank of Japan's massive purchases as part of its monetary easing program.

Asian shares ticked higher on Friday on Wall Street's cheer after upbeat U.S. growth data, while the dollar traded around four-week highs against the yen as investors awaited the outcome of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting.

Islamic State is still extracting and selling oil in Syria and has adapted its trading techniques despite a month of strikes by U.S.-led forces aimed at cutting off this major source of income for the group, residents, oil executives and traders say.

The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in 2-1/2 years in the second quarter with all sectors contributing to the jump in output in a bullish signal for the remainder of the year.

U.S. companies are increasingly less optimistic about the business outlook in China, and see growing competition from local rivals who get preferential treatment as a key challenge, a survey showed on Friday.

China, the world's top consumer of cotton, will slash its import quotas for 2015 to boost demand for domestic fiber, a senior official said on Monday, driving futures prices in both China and the United States lower.