GERMANY

Ford Motor Co announced a big boost for its European plants with a plan that included investment of over 800 million euros ($1.2 billion) in Spain and the launch of two new models there.

Scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, have succeeded in transferring a record 700 DVDs in only one second making it the highest bit rate on a laser. With 26 terabits per second, it would be possible to transmit up to 400 million telephone calls at the same time, they say.

Apple has released unlocked iPhone 4 (16GB) for GSM customers for $650.

Euro zone finance ministers will discuss on Tuesday how private Greek bondholders should be involved in a second financing package for debt-laden Greece ahead of a self-imposed June 20 deadline for a deal.

General Motors Chief Executive Daniel Akerson assured the CEO of Opel that the U.S. carmaker was not in talks to sell the European arm to a rival, a German newspaper reported.

Mobile giant Nokia said it has signed a patent license deal with Apple that would end all the pending patent litigations between the two companies over iPhone, iPod and iPad.

Evidence that China may avoid a hard landing for its high-flying economy lifted riskier assets such as stocks on Tuesday although investors remained on edge about the deepening Greek debt crisis.

Hiring prospects for the coming quarter have improved in most large economies from three months ago, while holding steady in the United States, according to a quarterly survey of employers by ManpowerGroup Inc .

Talks about a second bailout for Greece are getting closer to a conclusion as the European Commission pushes for a voluntary debt swap, media reported.

A top NYSE Euronext executive said the U.S.-based exchange's merger with Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG would lead to more job losses outside the United States than inside the country, in the short term.

Greece became the lowest-rated country in the world in the rankings of Standard & Poor's on Monday, putting it below Ecuador, Jamaica, Pakistan and Grenada.

The Mavericks star carried the team on his shoulders

The German government said it supports the Benghazi-based Libyan rebel group, the National Transitional Council, as the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people.

Lady Gaga supports the gay rights movement in Italy.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.3 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.2 percent at 0804 GMT (4:04 a.m. ET).

German luxury carmaker BMW Group will invest 500 million pounds in its UK production network over the next 3 years.

In yet another sign of China’s rise, Chinese delegates are now invited to the super-secret and super-elite Bilderberg Conference in 2011.

Talk about getting it from all sides. Economists want Americans to cut down on debt and boost spending all at once, even as home values tumble and gasoline prices soar.

Germany's bank association on Saturday backed government proposals to get private creditors involved in the cost of a second bailout for Greece, although it was not clear if the banks favoured a controversial bond swap. favored Berlin is pushing hard for commercial banks to contribute to the cost of the estimated 120 billion euro ($172 billion) deal, but has not yet convinced the European Cent...

A market was crowded with shoppers in Hamburg after the government lifted the warning on tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce on Saturday morning, following a deadly E. coli outbreak.

Germany's banks association Saturday backed government proposals to get private creditors involved in the cost of a second bailout for Athens, although it was not clear if they favored a controversial bond swap.