UNITED KINGDOM

Oil prices rose more than $1 to above $71 per barrel on Tuesday, helped by a fall in the U.S. dollar after a report Gulf Arab states were in talks to replace the greenback with a basket of currencies in oil trading.

Britain's leading share index rose 0.5 percent early on Tuesday, drawing strength from a rebound on Wall Street overnight, with gains in banks and miners offsetting weakness in defensive telecoms and pharmaceuticals.

The dollar fell across the board on Tuesday while world stocks rose after Australia became the first developed economy to raise interest rates in more than a year and data showed the U.S. services sector expanded for the first time since 2008.

Gulf Arab oil exporters will stay with the dollar as the currency for trading crude, a source in the United Arab Emirates central bank said on Tuesday.

Australia's central bank raised its key cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent on Tuesday and heralded more to come, saying it was safe to row-back on stimulus now that the worst danger for the economy had passed.

Australia's central bank raised its key cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent on Tuesday and heralded more to come, saying it was safe to row-back on stimulus now that the worst danger for the economy had passed.

South Korean and Indian shares fell on Tuesday after Australia's interest rate hike showed that stronger Asian economies were starting to reverse emergency stimulus policies, hitting markets seen as likely to lift rates.

A newspaper report that Gulf Arab states are in secret talks to replace the U.S. dollar in the trading of oil is wrong, Saudi Arabia's central bank chief said on Tuesday.

The dollar skidded against the euro and the yen on Tuesday after a British newspaper reported that Arab states were in talks to end using the dollar for oil trading, but Asian shares rose as U.S. services sector data lifted investors' mood.

Britain's The Independent newspaper said on Tuesday that Gulf Arab states were in secret talks with Russia, China, Japan and France to replace the U.S. dollar with a basket of currencies in the trading of oil.

Britain's The Independent newspaper on Tuesday reported that Gulf Arab states were in secret talks with Russia, China, Japan and France to replace the U.S. dollar with a basket of currencies in the trading of oil.

In one of the quirkiest book cults America has never heard of, a round-snouted troll is hauling consumers' wallets from their pockets despite the worst recession in decades.

The Aussie dollar rallied in local trade yesterday following some relatively upbeat comments out of the G7 and another strong reading in the ANZ job advertisements. After opening the weeks trade around 0.8650 investors flocked to the AUD ahead of today's RBA interest rate meeting with some sections of the market expecting a rate increase.

The United States is the most admired country globally thanks largely to the star power of President Barack Obama and his administration, according to a new poll.

Magna and its Russian partner Sberbank plan to sign a deal for a 55 percent stake in German carmaker Opel next Monday or Tuesday, several sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Three Americans won the Nobel prize for medicine on Monday for revealing the existence and nature of telomerase, an enzyme which helps prevent the fraying of chromosomes that underlies aging and cancer.

The Obama administration wants to ensure multilateral development banks have adequate resources, but any capital increase must be tied to reforms, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday.

Despite earlier health agency warnings, there is no strong evidence that the anti-smoking drug Chantix raises the risk of suicidal thoughts or depression compared to other stop-smoking products, researchers reported Thursday in the British Medical Journal.

British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said on Monday he was prepared to discuss support for Vauxhall with parent Opel's new owners, Magna (MGa.TO), noting that representatives from the Canadian auto parts supplier were due in Britain this week.

Director Trevor Nunn brings vividly to life a famous courtroom clash between two idealistic heavyweights in the Old Vic production of Inherit the Wind, with unforgettable performances by Kevin Spacey and David Troughton as the legal titans.

Microsoft Corp does not expect to make acquisitions to help the company challenge Google Inc's dominance in the Internet search market, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told Reuters on Monday.