CHINA

A mob of angry parents lynched a book salesman and badly injured four of his colleagues after rumors spread that the men were part of a human smuggling ring, the official Xinhua agency said late Monday.

Wall Street analysts on Tuesday cut their price targets on Baidu Inc, after China's dominant search engine forecast a sequential decline in fourth-quarter revenue due to the transition to a new Internet advertising technology.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp sees more acquisition opportunities in Europe than in Asia, the head of the world's largest custodian of financial assets said on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks fell in choppy trading on Tuesday as a worse-than-expected consumer confidence report overshadowed earlier data that showed home prices rose for the fourth-straight month.

The foreign ministers of Russia, China and India said on Tuesday that the world must remain engaged in Afghanistan, with Moscow seeking a greater role for regional powers in stabilising the war-torn country.

Two people have been executed in China for their involvement in deadly riots in Tibet last year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, the first officially confirmed to have been carried out.

Iran will accept the framework of a U.N.-drafted nuclear fuel deal, but will demand some important changes, al Alam state television reported on Tuesday.

Wall Street was set for a modestly lower open on Tuesday as worries the market's seven-month rally was reaching an end offset data showing U.S. home price rose more than expected.

The United States welcomes the rise in the yuan's exchange rate in recent years but wants the currency to climb further, visiting Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said on Tuesday.

S&P 500 index futures edged higher on Tuesday following a two-day selloff as better-than-expected earnings offset worries that the market's seven-month rally was reaching its end.

Stock index futures cut earlier gains on Tuesday with S&P 500 futures turning flat as investors took in the latest round of corporate results and awaited key data on consumer sentiment and home prices.

Oil rose above $79 a barrel on Tuesday, up after three straight days of decline as investors awaited new leads from equities markets and weekly crude inventory data from the United States.

Honda Motor surprised investors with a near tripling of its annual profit forecasts, bumping it further ahead of Japanese rivals thanks to a dominant motorcycle business and line-up heavy in small cars.

Oil paused below $79 a barrel on Tuesday, steady after three straight days of decline as investors awaited new leads from equities markets and weekly crude inventory data from the United States.

Baidu's hasty move to a new Internet ad system marks a rare stumble for China's dominant search engine, opening a window of opportunity for others salivating for a piece of the country's fast-growing online market.

The United States will need its entrepreneurial spirit to compete with deep-pocketed China in the race to develop green energy technologies, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Monday.

China's leading Internet search company Baidu Inc warned that the transition to a new advertising technology would crimp revenue in the current quarter, sending shares plunging 11 percent.

Nissan Motor said on Monday its vehicle sales in China surged 63.8 percent to 75,209 in September, helped by its Teana and Sylphy sedans.

General Motors said Brazil's car market has a very good outlook and the automaker will reinvest profits from the country's unit locally, Chief Executive Fritz Henderson told newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo in an interview on Monday.

Swedish miner and smelter Boliden beat forecasts for third-quarter operating profit as Chinese demand buoyed the market for metals and said its Aitik copper mine expansion was on schedule.

Intelligence agencies estimate that it would probably take Iran a minimum of 18 months to develop a nuclear weapon if it chose to build one, Western diplomats and intelligence officials said.