WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers on Friday warned that the Federal Reserve could be forced to raise interest rates next year sooner than Fed officials and markets expect.

"I'd expect rate hikes to be well underway by the end of 2022" due to rising inflation and perhaps an overheating economy, Summers said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. (US-Fed-Inflation)

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LONDON -- Britain's Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Uber drivers are "workers" entitled to the rights including a minimum wage and paid holidays.

According to a statement, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Uber's appeal and ruled that Uber drivers are working for and under contracts with Uber, rather than independent contractors. (Britain-Uber-Laborer)

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ADDIS ABABA -- Ethiopia's telecom monopoly, the state owned Ethio-Telecom has announced Chinese firm ZTE has expanded Fourth Generation (4G) telecom services to six major Ethiopian cities.

In information provided to Xinhua, Ethio-Telecom said ZTE had been able to finish a contract to expand 4G services to six major Ethiopian cities in less than two months period for an undisclosed amount. (Ethiopia-4G-ZTE)

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NEW YORK -- U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher on Friday with seven of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

Shares of Baidu and TAL Education Group surged 14.06 percent and 4.12 percent, respectively, leading the gainers in the top 10 stocks in the index. (US-Chinese firms-Stock)