POLITICS

Top European Central Bank policymakers on Friday left open the possibility of a bigger than expected rate rise as the ECB's chief expressed dissatisfaction with inflation running above target.

Five companies received more than $1 billion in contracts to develop new and better influenza vaccines, and to make them on U.S. territory, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department said on Thursday.

Dubai unveiled plans for a $27 billion resort complex including the world's biggest hotel on Monday, the latest in a series of huge projects intended to establish the booming Gulf Emirate as a regional tourism hub.

After serving a rise in lending rates as an unexpected appetizer, will China dish up a speedier climb in the yuan as the main course of its monetary tightening?

Coffee futures may spike next year because of a looming shortage of green coffee beans caused by growing consumer demand coupled with an off year in Brazil's biennial crop cycle.

From mighty meatpacking plants to tiny taco stands, U.S. businesses are making plans to deal with Monday's nationwide pro-immigration boycott, which could keep millions of people away from their jobs.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday said for the first time the central bank could at some point pause its 22-month interest-rate rising campaign to allow time to divine the economy's path.

The rebuilding of New York's World Trade Center was set to begin on Thursday, just one day after officials approved plans to erect the Freedom Tower and other buildings where the Twin Towers stood until September 11.

China took global markets by surprise on Thursday by raising interest rates for the first time in 18 months to slow a boom in credit and investment that risks destabilizing the world's fastest-growing major economy.

Sales of new U.S. homes rose a much larger-than-expected 13.8 percent in March, the biggest one-month gain since April 1993, but prices fell sharply, a government report showed on Wednesday.

The pace of existing home sales in the United States picked up by 0.3 percent in March, defying expectations for a slowdown, due to increased buying in some less expensive markets and in part to warm weather, a trade group said on Tuesday.

Finance ministers endorsed proposals Sunday intended to make it easier for international lending institutions to deal with soaring oil prices, trade gaps and other problems that threaten to derail growth.

Chinese banks will increasingly opt to list shares at home as China's financial markets mature, a senior banking regulator said on Saturday.

An indicator of future U.S. economic activity slipped for a second month in March, hinting at slower growth ahead, while separate data showed Mid-Atlantic factory activity edged up in April despite higher costs.

Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged to President George W. Bush on Thursday that China will make more trade concessions and does not seek an excessive trade surplus with the United States.

The Nikkei rose 0.68 percent on Wednesday as Canon Inc. (7751.T) and other exporters climbed after U.S. stocks posted their biggest gains in a year on expectations the U.S. interest rate-hike cycle may be near an end.

Soaring energy costs helped push U.S. consumer prices up a steep 0.4 percent last month, while rising apparel prices spurred core inflation more than expected, a government report showed on Wednesday.

Plagued by a series of safety lapses, Japan Airlines is putting together an exhibition of wreckage from a 1985 plane crash in what top executives said was a big push to raise awareness about safety among its employees.

China's banking regulators on Tuesday issued rules for commercial banks to invest client funds offshore, an important step toward opening up the country's tightly controlled foreign exchange regime.

Foreign capital flowed heavily into U.S. assets in February, suggesting the trade deficit was well-financed for now, but a six-month low on a gauge of manufacturing activity in New York state sparked concerns about near-term economic strength.

China Construction Bank Corp., one of the country's largest state banks, denied a newspaper report on Monday that it is in early talks with Bear Stearns Cos. that could lead to it taking a minority stake in the Wall Street investment bank.

Byow U.S. unemployment reflects a vigorous economy but does not risk fueling inflation at the moment, U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Mark Warshawsky said on Monday.

Federal Reserve governors said on Monday it was still unclear how much further interest rates need to rise to achieve appropriate levels of balance between growth and inflation.

China must do more to stimulate consumption and tweak investment policies if it wants domestic purchases of foreign currencies to trim its swollen foreign exchange reserves, an official paper said on Saturday.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Monday that he will ask OPEC to set the long term price for a barrel of oil at $50 USD, a price nearly $16 below current levels.

Many of the world's top food companies are not doing enough to help cut the salt, fat and sugar which are contributing to a global, diet-related health crisis, according to a report on Tuesday.

Rich countries' spending on official aid to the world's poor leapt to a record high in 2005 due to large debt relief packages for Iraq and Nigeria, the OECD said on Tuesday.

Constrained shopping ahead of a later Easter holiday this year led to flat to lower sales at U.S. chain stores in the last week of March, reports said on Tuesday.

The Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced on Monday a partnership with Exxon Mobil Corp. to develop the Upper Zakum Oil field located off-shore from the Abu Dhabi Emirate.