BARACK OBAMA

The U.S. dollar eased on Friday after overnight gains and ahead of euro zone growth data, boosting metal and crude prices, while world stocks drifted higher. The dollar rose overnight against a basket of currencies but succumbed to another sporadic bout of profit-taking, and traders said the currency's broad weakness was likely to continue over the longer term.

A rare rally in the U.S. dollar was the focus in Asia on Friday as investors wondered if President Barack Obama's nine-day visit to the region would generate pressure on some countries to let their currencies rise.

Chinese Internet users want to quiz U.S. President Barack Obama about trade feuds, basketball, Tibet and whether he will cede California to China, according to websites seeking questions for a town hall meeting.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits last week fell to the lowest level since January, the government said on Thursday, evidence the hard-hit labor market may be slowly improving.

CNN reporter John King will replace controversial departing host Lou Dobbs in a new weeknight political program on the 24-hour cable news network, CNN said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama said on Thursday he planned to discuss a strategy with Asia Pacific leaders calling on their countries to import more U.S. goods and the world to rely less on exporting to the United States.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan, currently under presidential review, was not open-ended, putting more pressure on Kabul to improve security and fight corruption

The Obama administration's pay czar said on Thursday his compensation rulings will allow General Motors Co and Chrysler Group to retain talent but is willing to consider lateral offers to hire new executives.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday he would host a December conference to brainstorm how to beat back double-digit unemployment, and repeated a pledge to fight for U.S. exports as he toured Asia next week.

President Barack Obama left for Asia on Thursday with the U.S. economy, jobs and a yawning trade deficit with China looming large on his agenda.

After more than an hour talking about how awful business has been of late, Pete Van Straten, 52, jerks a thumb at the telephone sitting on the desk behind his younger brother, George.

President Barack Obama, facing a 10.2 percent U.S. unemployment rate, will announce on Thursday plans for a jobs summit in December, an administration official said.

A Chinese government spokesman said Barack Obama should be especially sympathetic to China's opposition to the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence, as a black president who lauded Abraham Lincoln for helping abolish slavery.

The United States is concerned about corruption and poor governance in Afghanistan and has raised those issues with the administration of President Hamid Karzai, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday

President Barack Obama leaves for Asia on Thursday with the U.S. economy, jobs and a yawning trade deficit with China looming large on his agenda.

Japan will reassure the United States that their alliance is in good shape, Tokyo said on Thursday, as a feud over a Marine base strains relations ahead of a visit by President Barack Obama.

CNN host Lou Dobbs, whose outspoken views on U.S. immigration have made him one of the most controversial figures on television, said on Wednesday he is leaving the 24-hour cable news network immediately because he wants a freer platform to state his opinion.

U.S. home foreclosure filings slowed in October for a third straight month, but rising unemployment will spur another record year of failing mortgages in 2010, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Asia-Pacific finance ministers were set to call for flexible exchange rates among measures to try to reduce global economic imbalances that were at the heart of the financial crisis.

Asia-Pacific finance ministers endorsed market-oriented exchange rates on Thursday and said they would stick with economic stimulus plans until a sustained economic recovery was under way.

Gold rose above $1,120 an ounce to a fresh record high on Thursday as the U.S. dollar wavered near 15-month lows, while Asian shares lost ground as investors took profits after four days of gains.