U.S.

U.S. economic prospects are brightening, although Europe's debt troubles serve as a reminder that the United States must tame its own roaring deficit, economists said in a report on Monday.

U.S. antitrust regulators gave Google Inc approval to buy mobile advertising rival AdMob, after months of delay and rumor that Google was headed for a court fight with government officials over the $750 million transaction.

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped in the latest week, according to real estate website Zillow.com on Tuesday, a move that bodes well for the hard-hit housing market as it copes with the absence of government support.

China's Anshan Iron and Steel Group , also known as Angang, confirmed on Monday it would invest in a steel mill in the United States.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday described the Greek debt crisis as a European problem but one that could have hit U.S. banks if left unattended, a senior Republican senator said.

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - Nothing makes us happier than our families and loved ones, a new study shows, with face-to-face socializing beating reaching out to people online hands down.

A $1 trillion emergency package to stabilize the euro zone unleashed a spectacular rally in world stocks on Monday but the euro wiped out initial gains as worries about the region's debt problems persisted.

U.S. gold futures dropped 1 percent on Monday as safe-haven buying decreased after a $1 trillion global emergency rescue package eased contagion fears.

U.S. Transport Secretary Ray LaHood said he was encouraged by the steps Toyota Motor Corp has put in place to improve vehicle safety, but stressed he will be convinced only when its cars actually become safer.

U.S. gold futures dropped to a one-week low on Wednesday as investors opted for cash to cover equities losses, but the risk of contagion spreading in the euro zone beyond Greece provided support to prices, traders said.

The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, leaking from a ruptured well moved closer to the mouth of the Mississippi River. Analysts said the oil spill that threatened to eclipse even the Exxon Valdez disaster spread out of control with a faint sheen washing ashore along the Gulf Coast.

Global oil prices extended gains in Asian trade Friday mainly on encouraging reports of resurgence in global economy. Light sweet crude for June delivery was seen trading at $85.61 a barrel at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude was at $87.12 a barrel at the same time in London.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has today declared that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is heavily leaking crude oil roughly 5000 feet below the surface. The agency maintained that the oil is leaking at the rate of 5000 barrels per day and not 1000 bpd as had been estimated earlier. Speaking to media, Rear Admiral Mary E Landry of the Coast Guard informed that the new estimate came from observations made in flights over the slick, studying the trajectory of the spill a...

Quick. Name five of the busiest tourist towns in the US. Got it? Now, try to imagine how those cities looked years ago, before the influx of tacky souvenir shops and overcrowded buses, when mom and pop stores still adorned the main streets and where a familiar face greeted you at every corner.

United Airlines and US Airways Group reported smaller quarterly losses that topped Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, signaling a recovery for an industry that endured sagging demand in the recent recession.

China's auto market, which overtook the United States as the world's largest last year thanks to a raft of policy incentives, has been a major bright spot amid a global industry downturn.

US Airways Group Inc said on Thursday it has dropped out of merger discussions with United Airlines parent UAL Corp, a decision that changes the dynamic of similar talks between UAL and Continental Airlines Inc.

US Airways Group Inc said on Thursday it had dropped out of merger discussions with United Airlines parent UAL Corp, immediately raising the stakes for similar talks involving United and Continental Airlines Inc.

United Airlines is continuing separate merger talks with US Airways and Continental Airlines, and has also discussed the option of deepening a three-way marketing alliance between the carriers absent a merger, people familiar with the matter said.

China is on a gold buying spree these days. The Chinese central bank-the People's Bank of China-is taking a series of steps to increase its gold reserves to ensure that the precious yellow metal replaces forex reserves held in the US dollar. Chinese people in cities, small towns and rural areas are buying gold jewellery, gold coins and gold bars for investment like never before. Gold jewellery showrooms are mushrooming across the Chinese hinterland.

Six months after Merrill Lynch veteran Bob McCann came on board to revive the U.S. wealth management business of UBS, the Swiss bank's investors were reminded that a full recovery is still a ways away.