UNITED STATES

Pepsi bottler PepsiAmericas Inc, which recently received a buyout offer from the beverage giant, posted a 12 percent fall in profit that still beat Wall Street estimates as strong pricing, cost cuts and growing sales in the United States offset volume declines.

Oil prices climbed above $50 per barrel on Wednesday, supported by rising stock markets and expectations the U.S. economic slowdown may be less brutal than initially thought.

U.S. real-estate investment trusts (REITs) enjoy strong investor support, despite the slump in U.S. property markets, because they have moved aggressively to repair their balance sheets, ING Real Estate said on Wednesday.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday as it accelerated cost cuts and reduced inventory in response to a deep economic downturn, sending its shares up nearly 12 percent.

Time Warner Inc posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit, as a rise in cable networks revenue helped offset declines in advertising sales at its AOL Internet and Time Inc publishing units.

U.S. President Barack Obama was elected on a campaign pledge of sweeping change in U.S. policies at home and abroad. Following is a rundown of major promises and how he has fared on each in his first 100 days.

Barely 100 days in office, President Barack Obama is facing his first domestic emergency with the outbreak of swine flu and is seeing yet again how fresh challenges can erupt from the unlikeliest of places.

Pakistani troops took the main town in strategically important Buner Valley on Wednesday after dropping by helicopter behind Taliban lines, killing over 50 militants in two days of fighting, the military said.

China must swiftly decouple its rapid economic growth from rising carbon dioxide emissions for global greenhouse gas levels to stay manageable, the authors of a new study said, urging sweeping support to help that transition.

A 23-month-old child in Texas has died from the new H1N1 swine flu, becoming the first U.S. death from the virus, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said on Wednesday.

The U.S. economy contracted at a surprisingly sharp 6.1 percent rate in the first quarter as exports and business inventories plummeted.

Wall Street was poised for a higher open on Wednesday, even as data showed the U.S. economy shrank at a steeper pace than expected.

The economy shrank 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009, a higher than expected decline mainly due to sharp cutbacks by businesses and the biggest drop in U.S. exports in 40 years.

Nine soldiers were killed in southeast Turkey in the worst attack in months and police detained two suspected suicide bombers in the capital on Wednesday in an escalation of tensions.

North Korea on Wednesday threatened a new nuclear test unless the U.N. Security Council apologizes for tightening sanctions, confirming some analysts' fears that Pyongyang was determined to build an atomic arsenal.

The Obama administration's plan to impose a cap-and-trade system to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions would result in 1.9 million job losses and cost the average household $1,400 a year by 2020, according to a new study released on Tuesday.

U.S. drugmaker Wyeth reported higher-than-expected first-quarter earnings due to cost-cutting, but revenue fell short of forecasts as the stronger dollar hurt overseas sales.

A baby in Texas has died of the H1N1 flu strain, the first confirmed death outside Mexico from the virus, which health officials fear could cause a pandemic as it spread to two more countries.

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that the first U.S. death from a new strain of swine flu showed it was time to take utmost precautions against its possible spread.

Barack Obama on Wednesday will mark the 100th day of his presidency after a whirlwind start in which he has signaled a new approach on policies from the economy to climate change to U.S. relations with Iran.

Oil prices climbed above $50 per barrel on Wednesday, supported by rising stock markets and expectations that the U.S. economic slowdown may be less brutal than initially thought.