CHINA

Improving global manufacturing data lifted Asian shares on Tuesday, bringing a regional index near to levels before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September, but the pace of gains slowed as investors weighed how much longer a heady, three-month rally will last.

Oil fell on Tuesday but held above $68 a barrel as investors took profit from a jump of more than 3 percent a day earlier, spurred by hopes of economic recovery on the back of improving factory activity.

Exxon Mobil Corp, the world’s largest traded oil and natural gas company, is keeping fossil fuels as part of its primary strategy for the near term despite a growing U.S. government push for alternative energy sources with less impact on climate change, the company’s chief executive said recently.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, sending the S&P 500 to its highest close in seven months, as reassuring economic data reinforced hopes that demand will stabilize, while General Motors' long-expected bankruptcy filing ended uncertainty about the automaker's fate.

The U.S. manufacturing sector showed improvement in May, contracting at a slower rate for the fifth straight month, while consumer spending slipped only slightly in April, according to reports Monday that offered more proof the deep recession is losing its bite.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, sending the S&P 500 to its highest close in seven months, as reassuring economic data reinforced hopes that demand will stabilize, while General Motors' long-expected bankruptcy filing ended uncertainty about the automaker's fate.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, sending the S&P 500 to a seven-month high, as reassuring economic data reinforced hopes of economic stabilization, while General Motor's long-expected bankruptcy petition lifted uncertainty about the automaker's fate.

Oil jumped more than 2 percent on Monday, touching a near seven-month high as improving global factory activity bolstered expectations of an economic recovery.

Oil jumped more than 2 percent Monday, touching a near seven-month high as improving global factory activity bolstered expectations of an economic recovery.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday reassured the Chinese government that its huge holdings of dollar assets are safe and reaffirmed his faith in a strong U.S. currency.

U.S. stocks were poised for a sharply higher open on Monday as stronger economic data from China fueled optimism that the worst of the global recession was past, even as General Motors filed for bankruptcy.

The U.S. manufacturing sector contracted at a slower rate in May, while consumer spending fell modestly in April, according to reports on Monday that were further evidence the deep recession was easing.

Oil rose more than 2 percent to a seven-month high on Monday, extending its biggest monthly gain in a decade due to rallying stock markets and sustained expectations for a global economic recovery.

U.S. stock index futures rose more than 1 percent on Monday as stronger Chinese economic data lifted investor optimism that the worst of the global recession was past.

U.S. stock index futures rose more than 1 percent on Monday as stronger Chinese economic data lifted investor optimism that the worst of the global recession was past.

Twenty years after her teenage son was shot by troops near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Zhang Xianling is still trying to work out how many others died with him.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 share indexes are up 0.9-1.6 percent, pointing to a higher start on Wall Street.

North Korea may this month test a missile designed to fly as far as U.S. territory and may also be gearing up for skirmishes with the South around their disputed sea border, South Korean news reports said on Monday.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 share indexes are up 0.9-1.6 percent, pointing to a higher start on Wall Street.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 share indexes are up 0.9-1.6 percent, pointing to a higher start on Wall Street.

U.S. domestic policy on curbing carbon emissions is crucial for a global climate deal this year, a top Indian negotiator said on Monday, adding rich countries also had to provide a commitment on funding for poorer nations.