IBT Staff Reporter

Germany's manufacturing sector unexpectedly shrank at the fastest pace in nearly three years in April, denting hopes it can drive growth in the euro zone and

U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open for equities on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 falling 0.8 to 0.9 percent.

China's hot Internet sector is facing a problem it is unaccustomed to: a lack of money.

China's factories posted their best performance this year as a measure of new business rose from multi-month lows, a private sector purchasing managers survey showed on Monday, though overall activity still contracted for a sixth successive month.

China's ZTE Corp, which launched its first basic mobile phone in Africa little more than 10 years ago, said it could be shipping 100 million smartphones a year by 2015, as it looks up-market to reverse a decline in its handset margins.

Fresh from a big victory in raising $430 billion for the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde's tougher test as head of the global lender will be finding a way to give emerging economies more influence.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open for equities on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 falling 0.8 to 0.9 percent.

Global finance chiefs pressed Europe in weekend talks to quickly put in place the economic reforms needed to finally extinguish its debt crisis now that newly increased financial buffers have bought some precious time.

The euro edged down from two-week highs and shares weakened on Monday as political developments in France and the Netherlands raised fears about the region's commitment to tackle its ongoing debt crisis.

China's ZTE Corp, which launched its first basic mobile phone in Africa little more than 10 years ago, said on Monday it would sell more than 30 million smartphones this year, launch two phone-cum-tablet 'phablets' and reverse a decline in its handset profit margins.

After years of losing customers to Europe-based retailers that give young shoppers fresh fashions more quickly, U.S. clothes retailers are fighting back.

Companies are modestly stepping up hiring plans and increasingly report that wages are rising, according to a survey on Monday that suggested the economic recovery is gaining some traction.

ZTE Corp, China's second-largest telecommunications equipment maker, said on Monday that it expects to reverse a decline in handset profit margins this year and forecasts global sales of its smartphones to more than double from 15 million sold in 2011.

China will take a gradual approach to yuan reform and will not be in a hurry to free up deposit rates offered by banks, as it seeks to rebalance its economy and deepen its financial markets.

Asian shares and the euro eased on Monday, but losses were kept in check after a report showed Chinese factory activity stabilizing in April, alleviating worries about a sharp growth slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

China is set to speed up spending on roads, railways and utilities to boost economic growth, the official China Securities Journal said on Monday, citing government economists.

The head of the International Monetary Fund on Sunday renewed a push to fully fund a $17 billion lending package for poor countries, which are threatened by high oil prices and the risk of euro-zone contagion.

Allegations that Wal-Mart Stores Inc stymied an internal investigation into extensive bribery at its Mexican subsidiary is likely to lead to years of regulatory scrutiny and could eventually cost some top executives their jobs, analysts said.

European Central Bank officials showed no sign of bending to renewed international pressure to do more to boost the euro zone's struggling economy.

Luciano Benetton will hand over the helm of the Italian fashion clothing company he helped found 47 years ago to his son this week, he said in an interview published on Sunday.

By Ben KlaymanFord Motor Co , seeking to tap into China's growing appetite for brawny sport utility vehicles, will quadruple its offerings in that segment over the next year.

Royal Bank of Canada expects to double the number of wealth management employees in its Dubai office in the near future, and is open to opportunities for acquisitions, a senior executive said on Sunday.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa has been doing his best to keep in check expectations of major new stimulus by the central bank next week.

Leading world economies on Friday pledged $430 billion in new funding for the International Monetary Fund, more than doubling its lending power in a bid to protect the global economy from the euro-zone debt crisis.

Bank of America Corp directors, who were sued by shareholders for allegedly paying too much for Merrill Lynch & Co in 2008, must defend a proposed $20 million settlement of the claims in federal court in New York, court papers show.

Sanjay Jha, the chief executive to Motorola Mobility, was awarded a total compensation package of about $47 million in 2011, almost four times his 2010 pay, according to a regulatory filing.

China produces 97 percent of the world's rare earths, minerals that are critical for the production of everything from cell phones to missiles -- and now it wants to keep more of them for itself. The world is worried, but there may be little it can do.

The chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., which acquired Volvo in 2010, faces a grueling dilemma: Risk diluting the storied Swedish marque by sharing technology with Geely or let the Chinese brand face cutthroat competition alone.

Law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP on Friday said it has had preliminary discussions about hiring lawyers from Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, which is struggling amid high debt and a raft of partner defections.