BARACK OBAMA

A naval skirmish between the two Koreas will not derail the Obama administration's plans to send its first envoy to Pyongyang to revive dormant nuclear talks, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday.

The United States and Japan will agree this week to review their decades-old security alliance to tighten ties long term, a Japanese newspaper said Wednesday, as the two countries struggled to keep a feud over a U.S. military base from spoiling their leaders' summit.

China will refer to changes in capital flows and fluctuations in the values of major currencies when guiding the value of the yuan, the central bank said on Wednesday, in a departure from past language.

China said on Wednesday it will consider major currencies in guiding the yuan, suggesting a departure from an effective dollar peg that has been in place since the middle of last year.

Pushing for tougher changes in U.S. financial regulations, the Senate's top banking legislator on Tuesday proposed a new super-cop to police banks, a systemic risk agency and strong consumer protections.

Pushing for tougher changes in U.S. financial regulations, the Senate's top banking legislator on Tuesday proposed a new super-cop to police banks, a systemic risk agency and strong consumer protections.

Veterans Day on November 11 is the day honoring all those who were in the war and for school children in public schools they will have no school but will be home working on Veterans Days assignments.

About 20 percent of struggling U.S. homeowners eligible for loan workouts have entered into a trial modification, but it is unclear how many of them will be able to keep the lower payments permanently, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday.

Voter registration for a Palestinian election failed to get under way as scheduled on Tuesday, adding to signs that President Mahmoud Abbas might be bluffing about a make-or-break vote in January.

President Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday to make sure the gunman who killed 13 people in a rampage at a U.S. Army base in Texas pays for his crimes.

The U.S. Senate's top banking legislator proposed ambitious financial regulation reforms on Tuesday, leaping beyond earlier proposals to tighten bank regulation, protect consumers and police systemic risk.

President Barack Obama's deliberations over war strategy in Afghanistan have narrowed to four options but a decision is still weeks away, the White House said on Tuesday.

Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate said on Tuesday they hope to bring a long-delayed healthcare bill to the floor next week, kicking off a tough fight that may well spill into next year.

German wind park developer PNE Wind aims to generate a quarter of its sales in the United States in three year's time, its chief executive told Reuters on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle have travelled to Fort Hood, Texas on Tuesday morning to attend the memorial service for the 13 slain in last week's shooting spree.

The United States sees China as a vital partner and competitor, but the two countries need to address economic imbalances or risk enormous strains on their relationship, President Barack Obama said on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concluded an unusually low-key U.S. visit on Tuesday voicing confidence that his White House talks would benefit Israel's security and peacemaking efforts.

France fears that Israel no longer desires a Middle East peace deal, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Tuesday, adding that Paris remained deeply opposed to Jewish settlement building in the West Bank.

The United States hopes to reach agreement with China during President Barack Obama's visit on how to record and monitor countries' efforts to fight global warming, a top State Department official said on Tuesday.

Navies from the rival Koreas exchanged gunfire for the first time in seven years on Tuesday, damaging vessels on both sides and raising tension just days before President Barack Obama travels to Asia.

Barack Obama this week makes his first trip to Asia as president, leaving behind a host of domestic problems with a visit that recognizes the region's economic and diplomatic importance to the United States.