BARACK OBAMA

Ties between China and the United States will be tested this year by many issues: currency, trade, Internet censorship, human rights, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and President Barack Obama's meeting on Thursday with the Dalai Lama.

Efforts to extend the Kyoto climate pact framework risk collapse in a setback to years of diplomatic bargains, as chances fade that the United States will join other rich nations in capping emissions.

U.S. President Barack Obama will host the Dalai Lama at the White House on Thursday despite China's warning that the meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader could further damage strained ties.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday said his commitment to NASA was unwavering after his administration's 2011 budget slashed funding to return U.S. astronauts to the moon.

Housing starts rose to a six-month high in January and industrial output increased solidly, pointing to an economic recovery that was taking a firm hold and respectable first-quarter growth.

Iran will not give up uranium enrichment and the West must get used to an Iran that is a master of enrichment, Tehran's envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog was quoted on Wednesday as saying.

Beijing is likely to let its currency begin rising in value again this year in response to growing pressures at home and abroad, two U.S. private sector specialists on China said on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama vigorously defended his $787 billion stimulus on Wednesday, insisting it rescued Americans from the worst of the economic calamity and ripping Republican critics who called it a waste.

U.S. housing starts rose to a six-month high in January and industrial output increased solidly, pointing to an economic recovery that was taking a firm hold and respectable first-quarter growth.

The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz sailed into Hong Kong on schedule on Wednesday despite a Chinese pledge to suspend military exchanges with the United States after its announced arms sales to Taiwan.

President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus prevented another Great Depression while creating or preserving 2 million jobs, according to a White House report to be released on Wednesday.

White House economic adviser Christina Romer said on Wednesday that the U.S. employment picture was stable, with job growth expected by spring.

The Pakistani military confirmed on Wednesday that the Afghan Taliban's top military commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, had been captured.

The purpose of the Obama administration's upcoming summit on healthcare is to find solutions to issues like soaring insurance premiums, not score political points against the Republicans, the White House insisted on Tuesday.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced Tuesday $8.33 billion in loan guarantees for the construction of the nation's first nuclear power plant in nearly three decades while calling for a comprehensive energy and climate legislation that promotes clean energy.

U.S. stocks posted their biggest daily percentage gain in three months on Tuesday after strong revenue from drugmaker Merck and regional manufacturing data instilled confidence in the economic outlook.

World leaders want banks and financial firms to pay up for government interventions -- past and future -- to stabilize the international financial system. While details are sketchy, some form of bank balance sheet tax appears to be gaining ground.

President Barack Obama announced $8.3 billion in loan guarantees on Tuesday to build the first U.S. nuclear power plant in nearly three decades in a move designed to help advance climate legislation in Congress.

Wall Street was set for a higher open on Tuesday as corporate earnings and a solid jump in manufacturing data fueled investors' optimism on their return from a 3-day holiday.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rise 0.4 to 0.6 percent, pointing to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday, pointing to a higher opening, as corporate earnings fueled investors' optimism on their return from a 3-day holiday.