UNITED STATES

President Barack Obama plans to crack down on deceptive credit-card industry practices that have saddled U.S. consumers with huge debts and soaring interest rates, U.S. officials said on Sunday.

Barack Obama's presidency has been a wild ride for the U.S. Congress and lawmakers are bracing for more turbulence when they begin returning on Monday to tackle an array of tough issues from healthcare to energy.

Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens on Monday reiterated his prediction that crude oil prices would hit $75 a barrel this year as producers scale back production.

Top auto executives projected sales growth of up to 10 percent this year in China, but this lone bright spot among the world's major car markets is also producing ambitious potential rivals to the global auto majors.

Wall Street was set to fall at the open on Monday on worries that problems persist for the struggling banking sector and after Bank of America's results relied heavily on one-time items as credit quality deteriorated markedly.

U.S. lawmakers will pass major energy legislation, possibly including measures to address climate change, by the end of this year, a top White House official said on Sunday.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Monday with investors cautious ahead of the latest round of earnings and after Bank of America's results relied heavily on one-time items, while credit quality deteriorated markedly.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group , Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group have submitted bids to buy the Japanese retail brokerage unit of Citigroup Inc in a deal that could raise about 600 billion yen ($6 billion), five people with direct knowledge of the sale said.

Hasbro Inc , the No. 2 U.S. toy company, posted a lower quarterly profit that met Wall Street expectations on Monday, and said that the worst may be behind it.

Soft-drink maker PepsiCo offered about $6 billion on Monday to buy the shares it does not already own in its two largest bottlers, Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas, to cut costs and secure control of its brands as growth switches to new non-carbonated drinks.

Superconductor specialist Zenergy Power said on Monday it had been contracted by Con Edison to build and test a Smart Grid device to improve the stability and reliability of New York City's electrical system.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc is to buy privately owned Stiefel Laboratories Inc for up to $3.6 billion to diversify its business by adding treatments for acne, dermatitis and other skin complaints.

Fiat's chief executive has returned to the United States for talks as pressure builds to seal a partnership deal with Chrysler before the end of the month, sources at the Italian car maker said on Monday.

Asian stocks edged up on Monday, holding near a six-month peak and withstanding an early bout of profit-taking as investors eyed a slew of corporate earnings reports around the world this week.

A South Korean court acquitted a blogger on Monday of spreading false information, in a case that triggered debate about freedom of speech in cyberspace and critics said was only launched because his economic doom postings angered authorities.

Capital spending by U.S. firms was showing tentative signs of improvement and the pace of layoffs slowing a bit, an industry survey showed on Monday, further evidence the 16-month old recession was abating.

Strong banks will be allowed to repay federal bailout funds, but only if such a move passes a test to determine whether it is in the national economic interest, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing a senior U.S. administration official.

Capital spending by U.S. firms was showing tentative signs of improvement and the pace of layoffs slowing a bit, an industry survey showed on Monday, further evidence the 16-month old recession was abating.

British-based pharmaceuticals firm GlaxoSmithKline PLC is in talks to buy privately-owned U.S. skincare specialist Stiefel Laboratories, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday.

British-based pharmaceuticals firm GlaxoSmithKline PLC is in talks to buy privately-owned U.S. skincare specialist Stiefel Laboratories, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday.

Obama administration officials have determined they can avoid asking Congress for more bank bailout funds by converting existing loans to the largest U.S. banks into common stock, The New York Times reported on Sunday.