IBT Staff Reporter

Three of the four Rio Tinto executives on trial in Shanghai pleaded guilty to taking bribes, including Australian national Stern Hu, a lawyer for one of the accused said on Monday.

Russia's state-run United Aviation Corporation does not plan to bid for a $50 billion contract to replace the U.S. Air Force fleet of air tankers, a company source told Reuters on Monday.

Three of the four Rio executives on trial in Shanghai pleaded guilty to taking bribes, including the Australian national Stern Hu, a lawyer for one of the accused said on Monday.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.52 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.38 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.47 percent.

When Nicholas Davies joined Brisbane-based Arrow Energy Ltd as chief executive in 2004, he was charged with growing the then junior explorer into one of Australia's top coal seam gas producers by 2010.

Four employees of mining giant Rio Tinto stood trial in China on Monday, while the company's chief executive said in Beijing that Rio remained committed to working with the key Asian customer.

Rio Tinto Chief Executive Tom Albanese said he was respectfully awaiting the outcome of China's trial of four of the company's employees, which began on Monday.

PepsiCo Inc said on Sunday it would cut the levels of salt, sugar and saturated fats in its top-selling products.It will increase whole grains, fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and low-fat dairy in its product portfolio.

European leaders sent out conflicting signals at the weekend over aid to Greece, with Germany's Angela Merkel urging Athens to solve its debt problems alone and Italy's Silvio Berlusconi strongly backing EU support.

sourdough capital of the world -- to unveil a new natural sourdough ingredient that could replace conventional additives in a variety of other breads.

China's yuan could become a reserve currency accounting for at least five percent of global foreign-exchange reserves as early as 2025, central bankers said in an annual global survey.

University of Rhode Island researcher Navindra Seeram, who specializes in medicinal plant research, has found more than 20 compounds in maple syrup from Canada that have been linked to human health, 13 of which are newly discovered in maple syrup. In addition, eight of the compounds have been found in the Acer (maple) family for the first time.

Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Brian Moynihan is making his first trip to China this week as the U.S. lender pushes to catch up with rivals in the world's fastest-growing economy, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Beijing will retaliate if the United States declares China a currency manipulator and imposes trade sanctions, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on Sunday, firing the latest salvo in a spat over the value of the yuan.

Greece can go without borrowing until the end of April and has not yet decided when it will tap capital markets for funds to refinance maturing debt, the country's deputy finance minister said on Sunday.

With stomach irritation preventing almost 2 out of every 10 people from enjoying coffee, scientists today reported discovery of several substances that may be among the culprits responsible for brewing up heartburn and stomach pain in every cup.

The trial of four Rio Tinto employees opens on Monday in Shanghai, China's financial hub, in a case closely watched by investors anxious over the business environment for foreign firms and their Chinese employees.

Fueled by growing concern over the Greek debt crisis, the euro is positioned for a severe clobbering at the hands of its safe haven counterparts. The US dollar, Japanese yen and Swiss franc should enjoy disproportionately favorable gains against the euro in the coming weeks of trading or until a meaningful resolution to the debt crisis can be found.

The Labour government will unveil a 2 billion pound ($3 billion) green investment bank in Wednesday's budget to help Britain's transformation to a low carbon economy, a government source said on Sunday.

The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States rose 8.62 cents to $2.81 in the past two weeks as retailers raised their margins, according to an industry analyst.

The former chief executive of American International Group Inc, Maurice Hank Greenberg, reached a deal to sell most of the shares he holds in the insurer to a unit of Swiss bank UBS.

With a severe lack of confidence that a Greek rescue package would eventuate commodities, in particular gold, were sold off aggressively during Friday's offshore session.

The United States has thrown trillions of dollars at the slumping housing market and it still looks wobbly.

President Hugo Chavez denied on Sunday that he planned to censor or limit the Internet in Venezuela, saying on the contrary Web use had shot up more than nine fold during his decade in power.

According to latest meditation research, electrical brain waves suggest that mental activity during meditation is wakeful and relaxed.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon is appealing to the public to be vaccinated, particularly those vulnerable to the virus such as pregnant women, the chronically ill, elderly and Indigenous Australians. Australians are warned to prepare themselves for the flu season, as the authorities try to stop another swine flu pandemic.

Washington's bid to put finishing touches on healthcare reform this weekend should help lift uncertainty on Wall Street, but there may be some turbulence along the way this week as the recent rally appears to be fraying.

As a part of a healthy diet initiative, Australia's leading food manufacturers are going to do us all a favour, by cutting the amount of salt in breakfast cereals and bread.

Top Indian telecoms firm Bharti Airtel said it had tied up the entire financing requirement of $8.3 billion for its planned buy of Kuwaiti telecom Zain's African assets, in a sign of progress as the deadline for the firms' talks expire next week.