UNITED STATES

Asian corporate earnings have shown signs of improvement, stock markets have rallied hard and fund raising activity has picked up, but the tone from company executives remains cautious.

U.S. stocks extended gains on Monday, pushing major indexes up 1 percent as investors snapped up shares of natural resource companies and banks after fresh data pointed to signs of economic stabilization.

Iran's Supreme Leader endorsed the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a ceremony boycotted by leading moderates in protest at a disputed poll that plunged Iran into its worst crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Merck & Co's vaccines chief, Margie McGlynn, who oversaw the launch of its Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine among other products, will step down on November 1, a company spokeswoman said on Monday.

Oil rose more than $2 to hit a one-month high near $72 on Monday as positive Chinese economic data and firmer equities bolstered hopes of economic recovery and higher energy demand.

The punishing four-year decline in U.S. auto sales may have reached a turning point this week -- just as Michael Papa handed over the keys to his 1996 Ford Explorer for a government-sponsored trade-in.

U.S. venture capital heavyweight IDG Capital Partners (IDGVC) is considering setting up a 4 billion yuan ($586 million) fund denominated in yuan, a top executive said on Monday.

'Clunkers' boosts sales, UBS Soars, HSBC slips

Oil rose more than $2 to hit a one-month high above $71 on Monday as positive Chinese economic data and firmer equities bolstered hopes of economic recovery and higher energy demand .

Clunkers boost sales, Lowes hurt by investments, Opel positives

Japanese opposition lawmaker Seiji Ohsaka was disappointed, if not surprised, when he found he was supposed to stop posting microblogs on social networking service Twitter once the formal campaign begins for an August 30 election.

Auto sales for July which will be announced on Monday are expected to be boosted by the government's cash-for-clunkers program. The program boosted industry wide deliveries of new vehicles to the highest levels of this year.

U.S. stocks headed for a higher open on Monday as solid results from major European banks and expectations of a sales rebound for Ford Motor Co reinforced hopes that the recession is moderating.

Humana Inc, the health benefits provider, beat Wall Street earnings expectations on Monday as net income in the second quarter rose 34 percent.

Shares in UBS soared on Monday after reports said the Swiss bank would not pay a fine and would pass on fewer client names than expected in a settlement of U.S. tax litigation to be finalized later this week.

After more than a century of making cars, the U.S. state of Michigan is retraining thousands of unemployed workers for new careers now that many of their jobs may be gone for good.

Long after President Barack Obama's first term ends in 2013, millions of U.S. families will still be paying the price for the recession.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday following reassuring bank results from Europe and as investors bet that the global economy is on the road to recovery.

The German government has seen encouraging signals in recent days in negotiations to take over Opel and has positive expectations for talks this week, a government spokesman said on Monday.

Microsoft increased its share of the U.S. Internet search market by another 1 percentage point in July, taking its combined share with new search partner Yahoo to 20.36 percent, according to data released on Monday.

Microsoft increased its share of the U.S. Internet search market by another 1 percentage point in July, taking its combined share with new search partner Yahoo to 20.36 percent, according to data released on Monday.