French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Friday insisted France would slash the public deficit to below three percent of GDP by 2027, after the EU reprimanded Paris for breaking budget rules.

Global shares were mostly lower Friday after a retreat on Wall Street, where a drop in Nvidia stock pulled stocks lower.

France's CAC 40 dipped 0.1% to 7,661.64 and Germany's DAX fell nearly 0.2% to 18,227.44. Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.3% to 8,251.91.

Former President Donald Trump's new proposal to exclude tips from federal taxes is getting strong reviews from some Republican lawmakers, though major questions remain about the impact of the policy and how it would work.

What's certain is that a change in the taxation of tips would affect millions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there are 2.24 million waiters and waitresses across the country, with tips making up a large percentage of their income.

European markets opened higher on Thursday after a mixed day of thin trading in Asia after U.S. markets were closed in observance of Juneteenth.

In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.2% to 8,218.75, as investors focused on a Bank of England policy rate decision due later in the day. The central bank was expected to keep its main interest rate at a 16-year high of 5.25%, even after data released Wednesday showed that British inflation fell to the central bank's 2% target in May, for the first time in nearly three years.

A state-owned Dutch company that is the biggest electricity grid operator in Germany said Thursday that talks on selling its German business to the government in Berlin have been terminated due to the administration's budget constraints.

TenneT, one of four transmission network operators in Germany, announced plans for the talks in February 2023. At the time, it said it needed a "structural solution" to funding needs for its German business as the grid is bolstered to handle the transition to renewable energy, which it put at about 15 billion euros ($16.1 billion).

The Bank of England on Thursday kept its main interest rate at a 16-year high of 5.25%, even though inflation has fallen to its target of 2%.

In a statement, some policymakers on the bank's nine-member Monetary Policy Committee voiced worries that some underlying measures of inflation, such as in the services sector, remain elevated, which could be stoked further if interest rates are cut too soon.

Kuwait has announced temporary power cuts in some parts of the country during peak consumption hours, saying it is struggling to meet increased demand spurred by extreme summer heat.

In a statement on Wednesday, Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said the scheduled cuts would occur for up to two hours a day, in the first such step for the OPEC member state as climate change causes temperatures to rise.

A German court has canceled an arrest warrant against former Lebanese central bank chief Riad Salameh because he can no longer use the post to suppress evidence, prosecutors said Wednesday.

After an appeal by Salameh, a Munich court has "canceled the arrest warrant because the suspect... no longer holds the office of Governor of the Lebanese central bank," a spokeswoman for the Munich public prosecutor's office told AFP.

Japan's exports surged 13.5% in May, faster than expected growth helped by a weak yen and strong demand in the U.S. and Asia.

Finance Ministry data reported Wednesday showed that the trade deficit totaled 1.22 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), down nearly 12% from 1.38 trillion yen a year earlier. Imports grew 9.5%, year-on-year, to nearly 9.5 trillion yen ($60 billion).

The post-pandemic surge in global sales of luxury handbags, shoes and apparel is set to stall this year amid a creativity crisis and price hikes as brands shift focus to the biggest spending customers, a new study by the Bain consultancy said Tuesday.

Bain is forecasting flat worldwide luxury sales in 2024 following a slight first-quarter dip, according to the study commissioned by the Altagamma association. The consultancy cited political uncertainty during a presidential election year in the United States as well as economic uncertainty in China that has brought on a phenomenon of "luxury shaming."