CHINA

President Barack Obama raised the prospect of a clash with China at a summit next week by calling for market-determined exchange rates, shortly after Beijing told the world not to criticize its currency policy.

A parts supplier for Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. said on Friday it was dealing with its second strike in China this week, the latest in a rash of factory labor disputes across the country.

Small and mid-cap Chinese companies are going offshore to meet their U.S. dollar needs, using guarantees from mainland banks despite the increased costs the deals incur. With credit controls tightening in China, going offshore for dollar funding had become a lifeline for many of small- and mid-cap companies, according to bank sources, and as such they did not mind the costs incurred with the guarantee structures.

China told the rest of the world on Friday not to meddle with the way it manages the yuan, calling the exchange rate a sovereign matter for it alone to decide and all but ruling it out of bounds at next week's G20 summit.

U.S. crude futures extended losses on Friday as sluggish economic indicators raised doubts about the sustainability of a recent acceleration in demand growth by top oil consumer the United States.

Investors set aside sovereign debt fears and shifted their money to higher-returning assets in mid June, with emerging market assets and U.S. equities among the recipients of fresh cash, EPFR Global said in a report on Friday.

Toyota Motor Corp is resuming construction of a plant in Mississippi that was put on hold during the economic downturn, and plans to make its top-selling Corolla sedan there starting in autumn 2011.

Brazil's economy will grow solidly in 2010, but a slowdown from the first quarter will allow the government to bring inflation back to target by year-end, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Thursday.

Finger-pointing at the G20 will be self-defeating for an international forum that should be focused on coordination, not criticism, of economic policies, a senior Chinese government official said.

Finger-pointing at the G20 will be self-defeating for an international forum that should be focused on coordination, not criticism, of economic policies, a senior Chinese government official said.

Asian shares fell and the euro slipped on Thursday as short covering rallies ran out of steam, but some analysts said global markets may have finally found support after a heavy selloff in May.

Volkswagen shrugged off previously cautious outlooks for 2010 profit, saying a forecast-beating performance in the first five months meant it would now significantly exceed last year's results.

Smokers often say they need a cigarette to calm their nerves, but a new study suggests that after a person kicks the habit, chronic stress levels may go down.

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney cautioned investors on Wednesday not to take another interest rate hike for granted, saying volatile global conditions meant no particular path for monetary policy was preordained.

If China does not act soon to raise the value of its currency, the U.S. Congress could pass legislation aimed at forcing Beijing to act, a top Democratic lawmaker said on Wednesday.

A modest economic recovery is taking shape in the euro zone but its countries face two major challenges: reducing their deficits and reinforcing growth, European Central Bank Governing Council member Guy Quaden said.

The euro steadied near a two-week high against the dollar on Wednesday, as investors in Asia hesitated to chase its short-covering rally further, while higher yielding currencies stalled after rallying alongside stocks.

The company said the IPO of 11.1 million shares will be priced at $14 to $16 per share.

Top arms groups are on high alert to counter cyber spies from stealing their own secrets at a major arms bazaar outside Paris, even as they market new ways to clients on how to repel hackers in the digital battlespace.

Foreign investors reduced purchases of long-term U.S. securities in April but remained net buyers, while China raised its U.S. Treasury holdings for a second straight month, the Treasury Department said Tuesday.

Investors have become less bullish about the global economy but have not given up on riskier assets, finding equities as cheap as they have been since March 2009, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch poll showed on Tuesday.