CHINA

Sherman shrugged off media reports that Iran was becoming a serious divisive issue between the U.S. and India.

U.S. stocks started the second quarter with a bang on Monday, with the S&P 500 climbing to a fresh four-year high as manufacturing data from the United States and China helped support the outlook for economic growth.

Stocks ended higher on Monday, starting the second quarter with a bang. The S&P 500 climbed to a fresh four-year closing high as manufacturing data from the United States and China helped support the outlook for economic growth.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP), the world's second-largest food and beverage company, claimed the No.784 spot on the IBTimes 1000 list by expanding aggressively in emerging markets and catering to consumers' demand for healthier food and beverages.

As the international community weighs options for halting the bloodshed in Syria, members of Congress and the Obama administration have emphasized alternatives to an outright military intervention.

The pace of growth in manufacturing picked up last month, but construction spending saw its largest drop in seven months in February, pointing to an economy that is healing gradually.

Wall Street advanced on Monday, the first trading day of the second quarter, as upbeat Chinese and manufacturing data overshadowed a report showing continued softness in Europe.

Special envoy Kofi Annan met Monday with the U.N. Security Council in New York to discuss the progress of his cease-fire and peace plan aimed at ending a brutal crackdown by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad against rebel fighters.

Could Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) shares trade at $1,001? Analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets see that within 18 months when Apple closes its fiscal 2013.

U.S. President Barack Obama has already warned that the window of opportunity for a diplomatic solution is rapidly closing, suggesting that a military strike on Iran may be likely at some point.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), the world’s largest coffee-shop chain, is planning to further tap into the massive Chinese market and triple the size of its workforce and local network of shops by 2014.

A few blades of dried grass with Mahatma Gandhi's bloodstains on them, collected from the spot in New Delhi where he was assassinated on Jan. 30, 1948, will go under the hammer in Shropshire, UK, on April 17.

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, a gauge of manufacturing sector performance, unexpectedly jumped to the highest level in a year, while a rival index by HSBC showed further weakening in the sector.

Friday, the Dow gained 66.22 points, or 0.50 percent, to 13,212.04 at the close. The S&P 500 Index gained 5.19 points, or 0.37 percent, to 1,408.47, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 3.79 points, or 0.12 percent, to 3,091.57. The uptick capped U.S. stocks' strongest quarter in more than two years.

China's manufacturing sector expanded rapidly in March, confounding expectations of a contraction and easing fears about a potential hard landing for the world's second-biggest economy.

Most Asian stock markets ended with gains Monday as higher-than-expected reading of China’s official Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) boosted sentiment.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Friday were: Metabolix, AXT Inc, Echelon Corp, Ku6 Media Co, Saba Software and Penford Corp. The top after-market NASDAQ losers were: Nortek, TripAdvisor, Groupon, Vera Bradley, Illumina and Amsurg Corp.

(Reuters) - Asia's manufacturers stepped up the pace in March to fill an influx of new orders as Europe's debt crisis subsided and U.S. growth picked up, dispelling some of the gloom that had shrouded the global economy.

China's big factories were surprisingly busy in March as a stream of new orders lifted activity to an 11-month high, but credit-constrained smaller manufacturers struggled, suggesting that the economy is still losing steam.

The United States vowed to nearly double its funding to the Syrian opposition, and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised the Syrian people they will not be left alone.

China's big factories were surprisingly busy in March as a stream of new orders lifted activity to an 11-month high, but credit-constrained smaller manufacturers struggled, suggesting that the economy is still losing steam.