UNITED STATES

Businesses added more than 200,000 jobs in March, giving fresh evidence of recovery in the labor market, data showed on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama called on Wednesday for stricter controls on lawmakers to confront the corrosive influence of money in Washington as he signed into law an insider trading ban he said was needed to help restore trust in the U.S. government.

Today is National Tell A Lie Day. What better way to celebrate this April 4 holiday than to take a look at some of the best -- or worst -- whoppers told by the five men who are running for the U.S. presidency? Romney, Obama, Santorum, Gingrich, Paul... no one is exempt.

The 2012 New York International Auto Show might feature a dizzying array of dazzling cars from around the world, but one little German automaker had all eyes steadily glued. BMW announced its new M5 and M6 models as well as the BMW X1 and the 6 Series Gran Coupe models. All new models stick to the quintessential BMW values - outstanding performance, exceptional efficiency and stunning design.

Chevron, the second-biggest U.S. oil company, and Transocean are facing a second civil lawsuit which doubles the amount they may have to pay for two oil leaks off the coast of Brazil.

China's rise has unsettled many Westerners, especially Americans who fear Chinese influence could overwhelm that of the U.S. As the U.S. struggles through economic recovery, will China seize its chance to lead the world?

Trading on nonpublic information is already illegal for House and Senate members, but the new law bars them and any other federal employee from trading on nonpublic information about upcoming legislation or regulations. It also tightens disclosure requirements on financial transactions.

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao called the country’s state-owned banks a “monopoly” that has to be broken to allow freer flow of capital to loan-hungry smaller businesses, as the world’s second largest economy appears to have skidded to its slowest growth in three years.

Bidding on the largest sale of Titanic artifacts came to a close on Monday. As the 100-year-anniversary draws near, there is renewed interest in the ship, which sank in 1912.

Stocks and commodities plunged Wednesday after the head of the European Central Bank -- a lynchpin in the euro zone's effort to contain the effects of its sovereign debt crisis -- suggested that some Greek banks will be left to collapse.

The U.S. oil giant is engaged in a battle with Ecuadoran courts over $18 billion in environmental damages. While that saga continues, a judge in New York said Chevron doesn't have to pay a $21.8 million fine.

Gold prices hit their lowest since early January on Wednesday as comments from the European Central Bank lifted the dollar to three-week highs against the euro, accelerating a fall sparked by declining expectations of more U.S. monetary easing.

Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), the top provider of Internet gear, announced plans to invest more than $1 billion in new initiatives in Brazil and India.

The U.S. services sector continued to expand in March, although the pace of growth has slowed.

Betting odds and prop bets for the 2012 Masters golf tournament.

According to eyewitnesses, the suicide bomber detonated his device after steering a motorcycle into the group as they filmed interviews in a street market in Maymana.

In a new twist to the class claims lawsuit against India-based conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and its U.S. subsidiary L&T Infotech, an amended complaint has been filed to include yet another former female employee of the company who has alleged gender and pregnancy discrimination, and has also outlined in detail massive immigration violations that the company was indulging in.

Since the military-led coup last month, the situation in Mali has become increasingly unstable as coup leaders are now accusing the ousted President Toure of high treason.

The United States is far behind on reforming the country's housing finance system, where the government's mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provide funding for the bulk of U.S. home loans, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.

Stocks tumbled on Wednesday as investors digested minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting published Tuesday suggesting further monetary stimulus action is unlikely.

Google announced a new deal with Paramount Pictures on Tuesday, which will make more than 500 movie titles available for rental on YouTube and the new Google Play platform. The deal was made even though Google is still embroiled in a four-year-old legal battle over copyrights with Paramount's parent company, Viacom.