GERMANY

The German government is due to decide on Wednesday which bidder or bidders it prefers as a partner for the Opel unit of struggling U.S. carmaker General Motors, and could agree to provide aid for the firm.

Asian shares rose to a seven-month peak on Wednesday and oil prices hovered near their highest since November after a jump in U.S. consumer confidence reinforced a view that the global economy has bottomed, even if recovery appears fragile.

Asian shares rose on Wednesday to their highest level in more than seven months after a jump in U.S. consumer confidence reinforced expectations the global economy has hit a bottom, even if recovery appears fragile.

Stocks climbed more than 2 percent on Tuesday as data showing the biggest monthly jump in consumer confidence in six years lifted hopes of an economic rebound, and a brokerage upgrade of Apple Inc drove sharp gains on the Nasdaq.

The greenback relinquished gains against the euro and Aussie on the Tuesday session as UK and US markets returned from holiday.

Germany pressed suitors of General Motors unit Opel to improve their offers and a fourth bidder from China emerged on the eve of a top-level meeting to decide the fate of the carmaker.

Stocks rose on Tuesday as data showing the biggest monthly jump in consumer confidence in six years lifted hopes of an economic rebound, and a brokerage upgrade of Apple Inc drove sharp gains on the Nasdaq.

Recent share placements by renewable energy companies suggest the industry has passed through a financial bottleneck, but investor appetite for further stock sales could vanish as quickly as it surfaced.

Germany pressed the three bidders for General Motors unit Opel to improve their offers for the carmaker on Tuesday, saying they needed to assume greater risks and make credible commitments to preserve jobs and sites.

Germany denied it was considering a possible breakup of carmaker Opel ahead of a crucial final round of meetings on Tuesday between the government and top executives from Italian suitor Fiat .

Nokia officially entered the mobile applications market on Tuesday after opening its online software and content store, Ovi Store.

Switzerland will attend a high-level meeting on tax havens taking place in Berlin on June 23 after host Germany, the most vocal critic of Swiss bank secrecy, agreed to extend an invitation to Berne.

Major world economies including member nations of the the Group of 8 officially launched a partnership yesterday to accelerate the implementation of energy efficient measures in their economies.

North Korea conducted a second nuclear test on Monday that was far more powerful than its first one, triggering an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on the hermit state's defiant act and drawing condemnation from around the globe.

Porsche confirmed on Monday it got a 700 million euro ($980 million) loan from its Volkswagen unit but insisted it could cope with its debt woes.

Japan raised its economic outlook for the first time in three years on Monday, and an important measure of German business sentiment rose in May in further signs the worst of the global recession may be over.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday rejected a Western proposal for it to freeze its nuclear work in return for no new sanctions and ruled out any talks with major powers on the issue.

Germany will decide on a preferred bidder for General Motors unit Opel by the middle of the week, after holding a final round of talks with suitors Fiat, Magna and RHJ.

Top emitters of greenhouse gases tried on Monday to break a deadlock about sharing the burden of cuts in a U.N. climate pact, and Washington rejected charges that it was lagging Europe in fighting global warming.

A key measure of German business sentiment rose in May and Japan raised its economic outlook for the first time in three years in further signs the worst of the global recession may be over, with stability seen later in 2009.

The German government will likely settle on a preferred bidder for Opel, the German unit of General Motors, by the middle of the week, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said on Monday.