UNITED STATES

The number of problem U.S. banks and thrifts rose to 305 in the first quarter of 2009, up 21 percent from 252 in the prior quarter, marking the highest number since 1994, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said on Wednesday.

A Cisco Systems Inc executive said the company's high-end router CRS-1 is gaining market share and demand is likely to be strong through 2010 despite a weak economy.

Corrects first paragraph to 21 percent increase instead of 40 percent increase

Oil prices rose to a six-month high above $63 a barrel on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest member, said the global economy had strengthened enough to cope with oil at $75-$80 a barrel.

Sales of existing homes in the United States rose 2.9 percent in April, according to an industry survey on Wednesday that supported views the three-year housing recession was near a bottom.

Top office products retailer Staples Inc reported slightly higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday, bolstered by its Corporate Express unit.

The European Union proposed on Wednesday creating regulatory bodies to oversee financial supervision across national borders in a shake-up to protect investors and prevent another global credit crunch.

Major U.S. equity indexes were little changed on Wednesday after investors digested a key report on the housing market, though the Nasdaq rose on a semiconductor licensing agreement.

General Motors Corp moved closer to filing the largest U.S. industrial bankruptcy after a crucial bond exchange proposal failed and as officials in Germany neared a decision on which company would take over GM's European brand, Opel.

Sales of existing homes in the United States rose 2.9 percent in April, according to an industry survey on Wednesday that supported views the three-year housing recession was near a bottom.

Oil rose to a six-month high above $63 a barrel on Wednesday after OPEC's biggest member Saudi Arabia said the global economy had strengthened enough to cope with oil at $75-$80 a barrel.

Germany aims to narrow the field of bidders for General Motors unit Opel on Wednesday and reach a deal to provide the carmaker with temporary financing should its U.S. parent file for bankruptcy.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will meet top Chinese government officials including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing early next week, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

Myanmar's detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has hurt the image of Southeast Asia's regional group and strained its policy of quiet diplomacy, ASEAN chief Surin Pitsuwan said on Wednesday.

The European Commission will organise a meeting of European Union industry ministers to discuss the sale of carmaker Opel, a spokesman for the EU executive said on Wednesday.

The pace of sales of existing homes in the United States rose 2.9 percent in April, according to an industry survey on Wednesday that supported views the three-year housing recession was near a bottom.

Sri Lanka must allow international humanitarian access to an estimated 300,000 Tamil refugees from its recently ended civil war, some 60 countries states told the U.N. Human Rights Council Tuesday.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked six years in detention on Wednesday as her supporters freed birds and prayed for the Nobel laureate facing a possible further five years in jail.

California's supreme court backed a ban on gay marriage on Tuesday, upholding a voter-approved proposition defining marriage as between a man and a woman, but said the marriages last year of 18,000 same-sex couples were still legal.

Chinese protesters gave a raucous welcome for House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday, painting red slogans and crying out for the lawmaker to live up to her reputation as a foe of human rights abuses.

Don't look for China to drive consolidation in a global auto industry bloated with too much cost and capacity, analysts and executives say, despite a recent rash of reports and speculation that say otherwise.