AUSTRALIA

Global coal miner Peabody Energy Corp has agreed with Australia's White Energy Coal Ltd to build a coal upgrading facility in the United States, and may buy up to a 15 percent stake in the Australian firm.

Shares in Rio Tinto Ltd dived as much as 12.5 percent to a three-week low on Thursday, partly as investors bet the miner would scrap or alter a planned $19.5 billion Chinese tie-up in favor of a discounted rights issue.

Global talks on combating climate change this year might progress best by focusing on Mexico's proposal for a world climate change fund, one of the European Union's top negotiators said.

The U.S. dollar fell to a four-month low on Wednesday as optimism about a global recovery and concerns about U.S. fiscal health reduced its safe haven appeal, while oil held near $60 a barrel on hopes for more energy demand as inventories tighten.

The two drugs used to treat the influenza should be used carefully and only when needed for the chronically ill, pregnant women and other vulnerable patients, global health officials said on Tuesday.

The world's largest exchange for trading carbon emission credits expects to more than double its trading volume this year as more companies come to the bourse to manage their environmental costs.

Hess Corp's (HES.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) emphasis on exploration and recent drilling success will help the oil producer and refiner outshine its rivals in 2010, according to weekly financial newspaper Barron's.

A planned new U.N. climate pact is shaping up to be a mildly tougher version of the existing Kyoto Protocol rather than a bold treaty to save what U.S. President Barack Obama has called a planet in peril.

The new H1N1 flu killed its first patient in Canada, making it the third country after Mexico and the United States to report a death from the virus that has made more than 3,400 people in 28 countries ill.

Long-haul trips could be made in spaceships instead of planes in 20 years' time if Virgin's efforts to commercialize space travel succeed, the president of Virgin Galactic told Reuters in an interview.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said on Friday the country's economy will shrink by 1.25% for the year ending June 30.

Reactions to the stress test result for the 19 banks are rather calm. The Fed determined that 10 US banks must raise a total of $74.6B. In other words,9 of the biggest baAnks have enough capital to withstand a deeper recession.

When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head, Oscar-winning French composer Maurice Jarre once said, according to several newspapers reporting his death in March.

Anheuser-Busch InBev said it agreed to sell its South Korean Oriental Brewery to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co for $1.8 billion, allowing the world's largest brewer to repay debt.

Dutch biotech firm Crucell reported a surprise first-quarter profit on Wednesday, its third in a row, on strong sales of paediatric vaccines and the company, widely viewed as a takeover target, reiterated its outlook.

The new H1N1 flu virus is expected to surge in coming months in the southern hemisphere when the winter season begins, health experts said, calling for continued vigilance even if the virus appears to be mild.

Asian stocks rose to fresh seven-month highs on Tuesday as optimistic comments from central bankers bolstered confidence that the worst of the global economic downturn may have passed, offsetting anxiety about U.S. banks and their capital needs.

Australia's government put back its much-vaunted carbon-emissions trading scheme by a year on Monday, bowing to industry demands for more relief amid a recession while opening the door to an even deeper long-term reduction.

Teens sending nude or suggestive photos of themselves over their mobile phones are being warned -- sexting can damage your future.

Warren Buffett told a record crowd at a somber annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc that first-quarter operating profit fell and the company's book value declined 6 percent, as the recession hurt many of the company's businesses and investments.

Warren Buffett told a record crowd at a somber annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc that first-quarter operating profit fell and the company's book value declined 6 percent, as the recession weighed on many of the company's businesses and investments.