Heavy falls in European and Asian stock markets followed Wall Street's worst day since mid-2020 on Thursday, as stark warnings from some of the world's biggest retailers underscored just how hard inflation is biting.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Canada's Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to buy British home repair services firm HomeServe for 4.08 billion pounds ($5.04 billion), as it looks to broaden its exposure to UK residential infrastructure investments.

LONDON (Reuters) -Low-cost carrier easyJet said it was "in the right place" to meet pent-up demand for summer flights, with bookings above pre-pandemic levels in the last 10 weeks and sold ticket yields for the fourth quarter 15% higher than in 2019.

Renault unveiled on Thursday a prototype hydrogen fuel cell-powered sports utility vehicle (SUV), as the French carmaker scrambles to catch up with rivals in the race to cleaner driving.

Indonesian lawmakers on Thursday requested that the government review an export ban on palm oil, as industry groups warned that one of the country's leading economic contributors could grind to a halt in coming weeks as storage nears full capacity.