CHINA

A Southern California native has been dubbed American French Fry Brother by Chinese Internet mavens, after photos of the student, Jason Loose, buying French fries for a homeless woman in Nanjing, went viral a month ago.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano said two weeks ago he expected a framework co-operation deal to be signed with Iran when he returned to Vienna from a rare trip to Tehran.

Further straining the trade ties between both the countries, China has issued an advisory cautioning its citizens against traveling to India in response to an Indian embassy's warning last week to its traders against doing business with Chinese sellers.

Among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Monday are: AuRico Gold, Tata Motors, Cooper Companies, Seadrill, First Solar, salesforce.com, Schlumberger and Yum! Brands.

The April trade data is likely to garner the most market attention, while the Fed Beige Book will set the tone for the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. On Thursday, markets will also be watching Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress, which could provide clues on whether the Fed is ready to take additional steps to support growth.

Crude oil prices declined for the fifth day Monday as sentiment was dampened after reports indicated a slowdown in China's nonmanufacturing activity and U.S. employment.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a lower opening Monday ahead of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce's Report on Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories and Orders, and increasing concerns over the euro zone crisis.

Asian stock markets plunged Monday as weaker-than-expected economic data from the US and China raised concerns over the strength of global economic recovery.

Japan's Topix Index slumped to its lowest level in 28 years as investor confidence was severely hit by disappointing U.S. jobs data, the increasing euro zone debt crisis and the weakening Chinese economy.

China's non-manufacturing sector grew at a slower pace in May compared to the previous month, raising concerns about the slowdown in the country's economic growth.

Asian equity indexes are getting whacked on Monday a lot like European and U.S. stock indexes got whacked on Friday, with all of those open at this time having shed between 1 percent and 3 percent in the early going.

Tea Party members and other conservatives would like Americans to believe that the United States? problems started in 2009, but nothing could be further from the truth. Three major policy errors by President George W. Bush last decade substantially worsened the U.S.?s fiscal condition, and the nation has been trying to recover ever since.

China's official news agency on Sunday warned US against muddying the waters in the disputed zones of South China Sea, responding to Washington's statement that it would increase its military presence in the region.

The U.S. had been losing industrial jobs to low-cost countries, particularly in Asia, for years, but its manufacturing sector appears to be staging a surprising turnaround. In 2009, manufacturing accounted for about 11 percent of U.S. gross domestic product; in 2011, the comparable figure was 12.2 percent.

American military machines are endangered by phony components from China. No one has been hurt yet as a result, but solving the problem will be a herculean task.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Saturday that the country will shift most of its warships to the Asia-Pacific region by 2020 as part of a new military strategy.

Asian markets declined this week due to increasing concerns about China's economic slowdown and heightened Spanish banking sector woes.

Sina Weibo, the popular Chinese social-media network and innovative microblogging service, has been running on new rules to restrict unlawful and disruptive discourse since May 28.

This backdrop of the weakening of the global economy could promote a broad round of coordinated central bank easing.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission officially condemned last week's Houla massacre in Syria.

Shares of big gold mining companies rocketed higher Friday as the yellow metal regained its status as a safe-haven amid growing fear that the American economy may not be able to offset the combined drag of the euro zone crisis and sharply decelerating growth in China and India.