International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said she told China's new top economic official, Li Qiang, that China must accelerate its work to reach debt restructuring agreements for countries like Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, but annual revisions to the data showed applications were higher this year than initially thought, further evidence that the labor market was slowing.

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service plans to hire nearly 30,000 new employees and deploy new technology over the next two years as it ramps up an $80 billion investment plan to improve tax enforcement and customer service, it said on Thursday.

Federal Reserve officials counting on slower U.S. job growth to help them in their fight to lower high inflation will receive key employment and wage data on Friday, the last such download before their next interest rate decision in early May.

Malaysia's economic growth is expected to ease to 3.2 per cent this year, following the strong growth of 8.7 per cent in 2022, said S&P Global Ratings (S&P).

The U.S. private sector significantly slowed its hiring in March as last year's string of interest rate hikes took an ever-greater toll on activity, payrolls processor ADP said on Wednesday.