CHINA

Stock markets in China and Hong Kong advanced Tuesday after data showed that the China's services industry expanded at its fastest rate in 19 months in May.

Asian markets rose Tuesday amid hopes that policy makers in Europe would take measures to stem the debt crisis and regain the economic growth momentum.

Tensions flared in northwestern Myanmar after 10 Muslims were beaten to death by a mob of Buddhist vigilantes Sunday in retaliation to the rape and murder of a girl allegedly by Muslim men.

India's BSE Sensex rose Tuesday, tracking positive cues from other Asian markets and following recovery staged by the rupee.

China's services activity in May grew at the fastest rate in 19 months, according to the HSBC Purchasing Managers Index released Tuesday.

For most Chinese nationals under 30, the Tiananmen Square Massacre does not even register on their timeline of contemporary historical events.

Finance chiefs of the Group of Seven leading industrialized powers will hold emergency talks on the euro zone debt crisis on Tuesday in a sign of heightened global alarm about strains in the 17-nation European currency area.

Madonna is scheduled to perform in Paris on Bastille Day (July 14) and later in the coastal city of Nice in August.

China is boldly heading where few have gone before, but in the opposite direction from where most would imagine.

Could Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, be getting a new jolt from the burgeoning China market, its second largest?

Chinese oil company CNOOC said the localsubsidiary of U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips is cleaning up a small and contained oil spill, on the site where a much larger spill occurred last year.

A new stealth destroyer being built for the U.S. Navy is slated to cost the service branch $3 billion a ship. The new DDG-1000 destroyer, which is expected to be delivered by 2014, contains state-of-the-art technology that makes it virtually undetectable as it sneaks up on coastlines and pound targets with electromagnetic railguns.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is considering launching local China-only brands as it continues to try and bolster its own brand in the largest global auto market, according to Reuters Monday.

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.