IBT Staff Reporter

France played down hopes on Monday of clinching a deal at a meeting of G20 finance ministers this week that would push forward efforts to deal with global economic imbalances, although it said that remained its goal.

U.S. stocks were little changed on Monday as another day of persistently below-average volume suggested investors weren't willing to chase gains that carried stocks to 2 1/2-year highs last week.

AOL Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong doubled his stake in the company and now holds about $20 million in AOL shares.

Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE is gunning to be among the world's top three telecom equipment makers in the coming years, a wireless executive told Reuters on Monday.

While NASA's spacecraft Stardust is due for a special Valentine day rendezvous with comet Tempel 1, a report from NASA states that procreation in space may not be possible due to radiation.

MGM Resorts International , which sources said last week plans to publicly list shares in its Macau operations at the end of February, reported a smaller loss in the fourth quarter. The casino operator posted a net loss of $139.2 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $433.9 million, or 98 cents a share, last year.

The U.S. economy is heading in the right direction and will pick up steam over the next two years, but high unemployment and low inflation still paint an unsatisfactory picture, New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said on Monday.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion is not alone in facing demands from governments for access to its data services, and it is just a normal part of the business, co-chief executive Jim Balsillie said.

Sunday night's Grammy Award show may have shocked a few viewers. While Arcade Fire winning the award for Album of the Year, was definitely a surprise, the night's biggest upset was Esperanza Spalding taking home the award for Best New Artist.

Android gaming is moving up to the next level, with smaller publishers such as Glu Mobile and Zoo Entertainment threatening to zap larger players including Electronic Arts .

Deutsche Boerse risks ceding control to NYSE Euronext , a supervisory board member at the German exchange said on Monday.

President Barack Obama proposed a budget on Monday that would cut the U.S. deficit by $1.1 trillion over 10 years, setting the stage for a bitter fight with Republicans who vow even tougher spending controls.

U.S. stocks fell on Monday after posting two straight weeks of gains that drove indexes to new multi-year, although a recent pattern of buying on market declines was likely to continue.

Asia runs the risk of being left behind in the sudden wave of transatlantic stock exchange consolidation, given the tough regulatory regimes, cumbersome ownership structures and protectionist minded governments.

President Barack Obama will push his priorities for the 2012 federal fiscal year budget on Monday. Some of the cuts include programs for low income people and education in a budget that will cut the federal deficit by $1.1 trillion over the next 10 years.

JPMorgan is planning on starting a fund of between $500 million and $750 million to invest in Internet and digital media companies, the Wall Street Journal said on Sunday.

Nokia's smartphone alliance with Microsoft threatens more than 5,000 Finnish research and development jobs at the Finnish company and its subcontractors, a union boss said.

Apple is ready to plug any loopholes in its supply chain to avert shortages, as it has placed a $7.8 billion order for key components used in handheld devices from Samsung Electronics Co. for this year.

Detroit tops the list of fastest growing metropolitan areas for technology jobs, according to a report by Dice.com - a career Web site for technology and engineering professionals and companies in the US.

U.S. stocks were set to dip on Monday after posting two straight weeks of gains that drove indexes to new multi-year highs and some investors worried the market was overextended.

A research study conducted by the University of Southern California has revealed that the emotional stress one suffers when their team loses could lead to cardiac death.

Android gaming is moving up to the next level, with smaller publishers such as Glu Mobile and Zoo Entertainment threatening to zap larger players including Electronic Arts .

Chip-maker Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) is debuting a new version of its Snapdragon mobile processor offering speeds of up to 2.5 gigahertz and twelve times faster than its predecessors.

Japan's economy shrank slightly in the final quarter of 2010 but analysts expect a recovery this year as stronger exports to China and other parts of fast-growing Asia offset persistently weak domestic demand.

China's trade surplus fell to its lowest in nine months in January after imports surged, supporting the government's case ahead of a G20 meeting that it is doing enough to spur domestic demand without speeding up currency appreciation.

Ten-man Real Madrid produced an impressive performance at Espanyol to win 1-0 on Sunday, cutting their points gap with Barcelona to five points.

No 'safe' level of consumption of energy drinks has been established for children, adolescents and young adults, says the report from the medical journal.

Wall Street was set for a mixed open on Monday, with investors seen pausing for breath after indexes posted a second straight week of gains on Friday, with Chinese trade data and inflation talk seen supporting the market.

Nexans, the world's biggest cable maker, expects its sales to rise and operating margin improve this year, the company said on Monday, as it sees a pick-up in trading and manages to pass on higher metal prices.