UNITED STATES

American International Group Inc has asked former employees of its Financial Products unit for information about how much they earned elsewhere after leaving the company as it prepares to hand them retention payments, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.

PepsiCo Inc forecast earnings growth at a low-double-digit rate in 2011 and 2012 and said its shift away from independent bottlers in the United States.

Stocks rose on Monday, boosted by AIG's deal to sell its Asian life insurance unit and prospects for solving Greece's debt problems, which have increased fears about the outlook for global recovery.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn, a 40-year veteran of the U.S. central bank, will step down in late June, giving President Barack Obama a freer hand to reshape the institution.

A massive earthquake and tsunamis killed 350 people in one Chilean coastal town, doubling the total death toll on Sunday as the government tried to get aid to hungry survivors and halt looting.

Iran launched a fierce verbal assault on the West on Monday, charging some European countries of subjecting Muslim communities to insult and violence and suggesting the United States and Europe aided terrorism.

Iran is ready to continue its cooperation with the United Nations atomic energy agency over its nuclear programme, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Monday.

Israel voiced optimism on Monday that China would not veto any new U.N. Security Council sanctions to curb Iran's nuclear programme, saying Beijing had listened attentively to a visiting Israeli delegation.

The release of Apple's anticipated iPad may have hit delays, according to one analyst on Monday.

Britain's Prudential will buy AIG's Asian arm for $35.5 billion in the insurance sector's biggest deal ever, helping the bailed-out U.S. group repay a big chunk of its taxpayer debt.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, boosted by several mergers, including a deal by AIG to sell its Asian life insurance unit, and as a possible resolution appeared for debt-troubled Greece in the form of European Union aid.

PepsiCo Inc backed its outlook for 2010 and said it expects earnings per share to rise at a low-double-digit rate on an constant-currency basis in 2011 and 2012.

Online news has become more popular than regular print newspapers in the US, according to a new study.

The tech and capital goods sectors are leading a stock market rally on Monday on bullish industry reports and economic data that points to recovery.

The U.S. stock market rallied on speculation of a Greece bailout and a report that showed the seventh consecutive monthly expansion of manufacturing actives.

The Pentagon announced on Friday it has authorized the use Twitter, Facebook and other so-called Web 2.0 sites across the U.S. military, saying the benefits of social media outweighed security concerns.

Consumer spending increased slightly faster than expected in January as consumers dipped into their savings amid a small rise in incomes, a government report showed on Monday.

NEW YORK, March 1 Reuters) - Warren Buffett said the U.S. economy has passed the worst of its troubles but faces an uneven recovery as consumers keep a tight rein on spending.

U.S. consumer spending increased slightly faster than expected in January as consumers dipped into their savings amid a small rise in incomes, which could help sustain the economic recovery.

Stocks extended gains on Monday after a report showed the U.S. manufacturing sector continued to grow in February, while a run-up in semiconductor company shares and Apple Inc's stock underpinned advances in the technology sector.

Building products company Armstrong World Industries Inc (AWI.N) reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, hurt by lower sales volumes, and forecast 2010 profit below Wall Street expectations.