MARKETS / FINANCE

As Europe's car market weans itself off the rush of government subsidies, carmakers at the Geneva auto show are finding cause for optimism on a continent overshadowed by heady growth in emerging Asia.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a fairly upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy on Tuesday, saying the recent surge in oil prices is unlikely to have a major effect on either growth or inflation, as long as higher prices do not become sustained.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday that future mortgage costs likely will be modestly higher after reforms are completed to the national housing finance system.

President Barack Obama said on Monday everyone should be ready for sacrifice to help tackle U.S. budget problems, but it does no good to vilify public employees. In an apparent reference to a Wisconsin fight between public sector unions and the state's governor, Obama said: I don't think it does anybody any good when public employees

A former Apple Inc employee pleaded guilty to multiple criminal counts after being accused of taking kickbacks from Asian suppliers. Paul Devine, who worked at the iPhone maker as a global supply manager, was accused of using his position to pass confidential information to help suppliers negotiate favorable contracts with Apple.

Stocks dropped on Tuesday as investors worried that rising oil prices could choke off the economic recovery, with equities looking to keep taking their lead from oil prices in the near term.

An Islamist who worked as a British Airways computer expert was found guilty on Monday of plotting with a radical cleric to blow up a plane bound for the United States.

Japan's jobless rate held steady in January and the availability of jobs improved to a two-year high, adding to growing signs the economy is gradually recovering from stagnation. Household spending marked its fourth straight month of annual declines in January but the pace of the fall slowed from December, suggesting that improvements

U.S. construction spending fell more than expected in January to its lowest level in five months, a government report showed on Tuesday, pulled down by weak private construction outlays.

An investigation by U.S. immigration officials into illegal unemployment at Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N) is making some investors nervous and could have implications for the fast-food industry as a whole. Chipotle, based in Denver, is one of the highest-profile employers to come under the scrutiny of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in recent years.

Morgan Stanley experienced a very sensitive break-in to its network by the same China-based hackers who attacked Google Inc's computers more than a year ago, Bloomberg reported, citing leaked emails from an Internet security company.

Cuban President Raul Castro has admitted that plans to lay off 500,000 state workers by March are behind schedule and that the process will be delayed to help soften the impact of the cuts, state-run television said on Monday. The layoffs are a centerpiece of his reforms to modernize Cuba's Soviet-style economy, but the report said Castro told

The Wisconsin State Employees Union (WSEU) accused new Republican Gov. Scott Walker of unfair labor practices for refusing to bargain in a complaint filed Monday with a state employment commission. The legal challenge comes amid a standoff between Walker and state legislative Democrats over a proposal to limit bargaining rights

Borrowing by small U.S. businesses rose in January from the prior year, data released by PayNet Inc on Tuesday showed, but fell compared to December, underscoring the recovery's slow slog. The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, which measures the overall volume of financing to U.S. small businesses, rose 14 percent

The head of the Singapore Exchange Ltd drew a line under his $7.7 billion bid for Australian bourse operator ASX Ltd , saying on Tuesday he did not plan any further concessions to win approval for the deal.

The silver market has greeted the revival of forward sales by miners with sanguinity as prices sit at 31-year highs, but other signals suggest supply may really be scarce and investors are poised for more price gains.

Insurers must stop setting prices based on gender, an EU court ruled, in a move that could raise costs for women drivers, cut male pensions, and prompt more legal challenges to insurance pricing practices.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a positive open on Tuesday but gains could be capped by a jump in oil prices as investors awaited testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Insurance companies cannot take gender into account when setting premiums and paying out benefits from annuities and retirement savings or accident cover, the European Union's top court ruled Tuesday.

U.S. stock index futures were up but eased from earlier highs on Tuesday after crude oil jumped and investors awaited testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Factory input costs leapt across the globe in February, the latest sign of rising inflationary pressures, while euro zone manufacturing grew at its fastest in nearly 10 years, surveys showed on Tuesday.

U.S. stock index futures were higher on Tuesday as investors awaited testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is not expected to cut short the Fed's bond buying program.

Insurers cannot take gender into account as a risk factor in the costs and payouts from annuities and retirement savings as well as accident cover, the European Union's top court ruled on Tuesday.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI>, the S&P 500 <.SPX> and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> all rising 0.6 percent.

Costs for Chinese and Indian factories jumped in February, pointing to a need for more measures to prevent inflation from undermining the world's two fastest-growing economies, surveys showed on Tuesday.

Oil prices rose back above $112 a barrel on Tuesday due to concerns over unrest in the Middle East, though stock markets shrugged off the move, preferring to focus on optimism over the outlook for the U.S. economy.

Shanghai and Hong Kong look set for a collision course as they seek to attract yuan listings by foreign firms, in a battle where the mainland market may have the upper hand initially.

Flush from heady sales in the world's largest auto market, foreign car makers now see China as a launch pad for exports, with General Motors (GM.N) (GM) blazing the trail with shipments of its Chevy Sail.

Even with Middle Eastern tumult tearing down governments and pushing up oil prices, China will stay a restrained regional player, reluctant to gamble a growing pile of economic chips for uncertain political gains.