GERMANY

As the saying goes, money isn't everything, but it certainly means more to people now than before the global financial crisis, and especially in China, Japan and South Korea.

U.S. stock index futures dropped on Tuesday as a key index of German business sentiment fell unexpectedly, denting confidence in a global economic recovery and weighing on European shares.

Fury over Greece using derivatives that masked its debt conveniently ignores the fact that euro zone countries and EU bookkeepers have approved other deals worth billions of euros for over 10 years.

Commerzbank said it expected 2010 to be a difficult year after posting a worse-than-expected fourth-quarter loss, hit by weak trading results and higher loan loss provisions.

A U.S. Navy warship prevented an attack on a Tanzanian ship and apprehended eight suspected pirates in the process, the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania said on Tuesday.

A German economics professor and euro critic plans to take legal action if Germany and other European Union countries grant financial aid to debt-stricken Greece, he said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday.

Most Asian stock markets recouped early losses on Tuesday while the dollar was trapped in a tight range as investors waited for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to shed light on how soon key U.S. interest rates may start to rise.

When it comes to getting the word out about the state capital's most famous avian couple, what could be more appropriate than Twitter?

General Motors should raise its share of the reorganization costs for its European arm Opel in order to get state aid from Germany, Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Monday, citing German government sources.

World crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 109 million metric tons (mmt) in January. This is 25.5% higher than January 2009.China's crude steel production for January 2010 was 48.7 mmt, an increase of 18.2% on January 2009. Japan produced 8.7 mmt of crude steel in January 2010, up 36.8% compared to the same month last year. South Korea showed an increase of 32.4% from January 2009, producing 4.5 mmt of crude steel in January 2010.

German master Andre Lange powered smoothly to victory in the Olympic two-man bobsleigh on Sunday to continue his total domination of the sport.

It was indeed Miller Time -- as the beer slogan goes -- for the U.S. Olympic team Sunday after skier Bode Miller snatched his first Olympic gold medal and ice hockey goalkeeper Ryan Miller stopped Canada in a heartbreaking loss for the hockey-crazed host nation.

European Union foreign ministers will condemn assassinations and the use of forged passports on Monday to censure Israel after the killing of a Palestinian militant in Dubai.

Fearing potential staff cuts, Lufthansa's high-paid German pilots took to the picket lines on Monday, plunging the airline into its longest ever strike and forcing the carrier to cancel hundreds of flights.

World stocks hit 2-1/2 week highs on Monday and oil reached a six-week peak as investors became increasingly confident about the outlook for the U.S. economic recovery.

About 800 flights per day will be canceled over a four-day period, as pilots at Deutsche Lufthansa went on strike on Monday after last-ditch attempts to reach a compromise failed over the weekend.

Japan's Finance Minister Naoto Kan reiterated his desire to target inflation, setting up a clash with the Bank of Japan over how best to pull the country out of deflation.

A makeshift assistance should be enough to rescue Greece but bigger problems facing Europe would leave the future of the euro currency in question, billionaire investor George Soros said.

Greece's fiscal problems must be solved within the euro zone rather than with the International Monetary Fund , French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said in an interview published in a Greek newspaper on Sunday.

Three of international ice hockey's greatest rivalries take center stage for a hat-trick of grudge matches in what is being billed as Olympic Super Sunday at Canada Hockey Place. Sports

Germany's finance ministry has sketched out a plan in which countries using the euro currency will provide aid worth between 20 billion and 25 billion euros ($27-$33.7 billion) for Greece, a magazine reported on Saturday.