UNITED STATES

In an auto industry placing increased emphasis on fuel economy in its vehicles, Ford Motor Co. serves as the poster child. The average fuel economy of Ford's sold passenger vehicles and trucks jumped by an average of 4.9 miles per gallon in February from the year-ago period. Unsurprising in those results is the credit due to the Ford Fusion and Focus, on which the company has placed an emphasis on greater fuel economy.

In a presidential progress report published Monday, the U.S. seems poised to meet President Barack Obama's future energy plans as outlined in March of last year.

In a year where the nation's reproductive health debate was iconically symbolized by the U.S. Congress all-male contraception panel, female lawmakers are shooting back with their own proposals.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee has its monthly meeting Tuesday, but no policy changes are expected, economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch say.

Apple (AAPL) stock continues to pound the competition, closing at $552.00 on Monday, an all-time record for the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer company. Monday's high now puts Apple's market cap over $514 billion, which now exceeds Exxon's market cap -- currently standing at $403 billion -- by more than $100 billion.

Hold tight to your shot glasses, travellers. If you're headed to Manila, capital of The Philippines, you're likely to find lambanog in your cups.

JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) saw its airline traffic jump an astounding 17.4 percent in February, the company announced Monday in a press release.

The soaring cost of gasoline may end up being the most important issue of the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign.

The top U.S. diplomat urged all countries to speak with one voice ... that the killing of innocent Syrians must stop. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said the regime of Syria's Bashar al-Assad has subjected its citizens in several cities to military assault and disproportionate use of force.

It is our view that a rate cut from China could prove to be the next catalyst to push equity markets higher.

New York is the most competitive city in the world, according to a new survey by Citigroup and the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is financing an Internet TV network that will include an interview show with former CNN television host Larry King in a project that could be running before October, according to the network and a Slim spokesman.

The U.S. budget deficit grew by $231.68 million in February, more than at any time since August 2010, but the government is on track for a budget gap this fiscal year that's smaller than in fiscal 2011.

In a bid to tamp down high gas prices, federal regulators hope to have rules in place that would limit oil and gasoline price speculation on Wall Street in several months.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday of cynically launching new military assaults while meeting with U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan over the weekend.

Kony 2012, a 30-minute documentary produced by Invisible Children, hit YouTube on March 5. Six days later, amid controversy regarding the claims made in the video about Joseph Kony and the nonprofit's methods, over 100 million people have seen Kony 2012, which makes it the most successful viral video in Internet history.

Tiger Woods' long awaited comeback may be delayed again due to an Achilles heel injury he suffered Sunday while playing at the Cadillac Championship.

United Parcel Service will only sweeten its 4.9 billion euros ($6.4 billion) bid for Dutch parcel-delivery firm TNT Express by a symbolic amount at best, three sources close to the talks said.

Gold fell on Monday, under pressure from a softer euro and from dwindling expectations for the Federal Reserve to signal the need for more measures to keep U.S. rates low, although longer-term investors took their bullion holdings to a fresh record.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange sees no need for a merger and is happily solo, CBOE Holdings Inc CEO William Brodsky said on Monday.

The Gunners host the Magpies at Emirates in a key match for both clubs.