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DUBAI (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched and some burned U.S. flags on Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the triumph of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Shi’ite cleric who toppled the Shah in an Islamic Revolution that rattles the West to this day.

On Feb 11, 1979, Iran’s army declared its neutrality, paving the way for the collapse of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East.

State TV showed large crowds defying frigid weather and carrying Iranian flags while chanting “Death to Israel, Death to America,” trademark chants of the revolution which ousted the United States’ most important ally in the Middle East.

One banner read: “Much to the dismay of America, the revolution has reached its 40th year.”

The large turnout in state-sponsored rallies came as Iranians face rising prices, food shortages and high inflation that have triggered waves of protests.

U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers last year and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran, dealing a blow to the country’s economy. Iranian officials said the move amounted to “economic warfare”

In a speech at Tehran’s Azadi (Freedom) square, President Hassan Rouhani dismissed U.S. efforts to isolate Iran, saying U.S. sanctions could not break the Islamic Republic.

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May has rejected the idea of targeting a customs union with the European Union, pouring cold water on hopes from some that she could shift her Brexit policy to win over the opposition Labour Party.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29 but has yet to find a deal which is acceptable to both Brussels and lawmakers at home, raising the prospect of a disorderly exit that could damage the world’s fifth largest economy.

Brexit has divided Britain at every level from voters to cabinet, and raised fears internationally that it will weaken the West. Brexit supporters hail it as casting off a failing German-led project.

Last week, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn set out the conditions under which he would instruct his party to support an exit deal in parliament. Foremost was a demand that May seek a “permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union”.

The EU has urged May to grasp Labour’s compromise offer rather than press ahead with her preferred option of getting her own divided party onside by renegotiating a clause in the exit agreement relating to the Northern Irish border.

But May’s office published her reply to Corbyn late on Sunday, showing little appetite for a U-turn which would risk splitting her fractious party by ruling out the scope for Britain to strike its own trade deals around the world.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Talks on border security funding collapsed after Democratic and Republican lawmakers clashed over immigrant detention policy as they worked to avert another U.S. government shutdown, a Republican senator said on Sunday.

“The talks are stalled right now,” Republican Senator Richard Shelby told “Fox News Sunday.” He said the impasse was over Democrats’ desire to cap the number of beds in detention facilities for people who enter the country illegally.

Efforts to resolve the dispute over border security funding extended into the weekend as a special congressional negotiating panel aimed to reach a deal by Monday, lawmakers and aides said.

Trump weighed in Sunday, saying the Democratic proposal would protect felons. “They are offering very little money for the desperately needed Border Wall & now, out of the blue, want a cap on convicted violent felons to be held in detention!” Trump said on Twitter.

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares barely moved on Monday as investors were unable to shake worries about global growth, U.S. politics and the Sino-U.S. trade war, keeping the safe haven dollar near a six-week top against major currencies.

Chinese stock indexes played catch-up when reopening after a week-long break. Gains came as the commerce ministry said retail earnings during the Lunar New Year holiday jumped 8.5 percent from the period last year, even though growth in the world’s second largest economy is slowing.

China’s blue-chip index surged 1.6 percent while Shanghai’s SSE Composite climbed 1.2 percent.

Australian stocks recouped some losses to end 0.2 percent lower while South Korea’s KOSPI index was up 0.2 percent. Indonesian and Indian benchmarks were in the red.

That left MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan were slightly firmer after it was toppled from a four-month top on Friday.

Trading volumes were generally light, with Japan on public holiday.

Tensions between the United States and China have cost both countries billions of dollars and roiled global financial markets.

A new round of trade talks began in Beijing on Monday, with higher-level talks involving U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday and Friday.

If the negotiations do not progress sufficiently by March 1, the U.S. has said it intends to raise tariffs on $200 billion of imports from China to 25 percent from 10 percent.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday that she saw and heard a desire from European Union leaders to ensure Britain leaves the bloc with a deal.

“What I see and hear from leaders is a desire for us to work together to ensure that we can deliver the UK leaving the European Union with a deal,” May said after meeting Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Council President Donald Tusk.

“It is not going to be easy but crucially President Juncker and I have agreed that talks will now start to find a way through this, to find a way to get this over the line and to deliver on the concerns that parliament has so we get a majority in parliament,” she said.

“I am clear that I am going to deliver Brexit, I am going to deliver it on time, that is what I am going to do for the British public. I will be negotiating hard in the coming days to do just that,” May said.

LONDON (Reuters) – European stocks faltered on Friday after their worst day in six weeks as downgrades to growth forecasts weighed, while weak numbers from Umicore, Skanska, and Rockwool outweighed a sales beat from L’Oreal.

The pan-European STOXX 600 hovered flat by 0825 GMT, in line with the DAX, while the FTSE 100 and CAC 40 managed to inch up 0.2 percent.

French Cosmetics giant L’Oreal said strong demand for luxury skin creams helped it beat fourth-quarter sales forecasts – another company reporting better-than-feared demand from China after LVMH last week.

Its shares rose 1.2 percent in early deals before giving back gains to trade up just 0.4 percent. Traders put the move down to profit-taking after a strong run – L’Oreal hit a record high on Feb 5.

Luxury handbag maker Hermes topped the CAC 40 with a 1.5-percent gain after it also said sales momentum in its Chinese stores stayed strong.

Luxury rivals Kering and LVMH also rose 0.6 percent each.

Swedish electronics group Dometic shone, topping the STOXX with a 16-percent jump after reporting fourth-quarter profit rose and giving a positive outlook for 2019 sales growth.

On the flipside, Belgian chemicals and cobalt refiner Umicore fell 4.7 percent after saying it expected 2019 growth to be hit by subdued demand in cars and consumer electronics, and R&D costs.

Construction was a weak spot with Denmark’s Rockwool sinking 13 percent after full-year earnings missed expectations, and Sweden’s Skanska losing 7.8 percent after it cut its dividend and lagged profit estimates.

Autos fell 0.8 percent, extending losses from Thursday when the sector suffered its biggest one-day drop since the Brexit vote aftermath in June 2016.

Tata Motors warned Jaguar Land Rover would swing to a loss due to weak sales, and that latest negative news on car demand weighed on auto suppliers Valeo and Faurecia, down 2.6 to 3 percent.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he did not plan to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a March 1 deadline set by the two countries to achieve a trade deal.

Asked during an event in the Oval Office whether there would be a meeting before the deadline, Trump said: “No.”

When asked whether there would be a meeting in the next month or so, Trump said: “Not yet. Maybe. Probably too soon. Probably too soon.”

The remarks confirmed comments from administration officials who said the two men were unlikely to meet before the deadline, dampening hopes of a quick trade pact and sparking a drop in U.S stock markets.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers negotiating a deal with President Donald Trump on border security funding on Thursday said progress was being made, with Democratic Senator Jon Tester raising the possibility of a successful conclusion to talks as soon as Friday.

Speaking to reporters, Tester said it was “entirely possible we could have a deal in a timely manner, which could be tomorrow but certainly by the weekend.”

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, who met earlier on Thursday at the White House with Trump, told reporters the 17 Senate and House of Representatives negotiators were on “a positive trajectory”.

Shelby, a Republican, would not provide any details on a possible deal but said the situation had improved now that there was a better understanding of what Trump would support.

Trump spoke to reporters in the White House Oval Office and when asked about a potential compromise, said, “There could be.”

NEW YORK/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – In June, the High Seas tanker ship loaded up on ethanol in Texas and set off for Asia.

Two months later – after a circuitous journey that included a ship-to-ship transfer and a stop in Malaysia – its cargo arrived in China, according to shipping data analyzed by Reuters and interviews with Malaysian and Chinese port officials.

At the time, the roundabout route puzzled global ethanol traders and ship brokers, who called it a convoluted and costly way to get U.S. fuel to China.

But the journey reflects a broader shift in global ethanol flows since U.S. President Donald Trump ignited a trade war with China last spring.

Although China slapped retaliatory tariffs up to 70 percent on U.S. ethanol shipments, the fuel can still legally enter China tariff-free if it arrives blended with at least 40 percent Asian-produced fuel, according to trade rules established between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the regional economic and political body.