IBT Staff Reporter

Food, not oil, may prove to be the bigger threat to global growth, with the pain falling disproportionately upon the developing economies that powered the latest economic recovery.

U.S. crude prices rose nearly 2 percent to 2- year highs on Monday as worries about supply disruption increased due to deepening unrest in Libya, while Asian stocks declined as concerns about the Middle East also weighed.

Starbucks Corp may go for acquisitions over the next 12-18 months to expand its consumer products business, Chief Executive Howard Schultz told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.

People.com.cn, the online news portal run by the mouthpiece of the Chinese communist party, will list in Shanghai as early as June, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Crude oil prices rose to 2-1/2 year highs on Monday on heightened worries about supply disruption due to deepening unrest in Libya, while Asian stocks slipped as concerns about the Middle East and higher energy prices weighed on equities.

International private equity firms may be tempted to Russia by two potential initiatives -- a fund and a committee to look at investment in the country, a source briefed on the situation said on Sunday.

French luxury group LVMH is to take a controlling stake in Italy's luxury jeweler Bulgari in an all-share deal, the Financial Times reported.

A California couple whose wedding plans appeared thwarted when a lung infection landed the groom in the isolation ward of a hospital got married anyway over the weekend, in a ceremony conducted over Skype.

Japan is expected to make progress in beating deflation but risks to its economy remain, a senior Bank of Japan official said, stressing that the central bank is sticking to its ultra-easy policy bias.

The London Stock Exchange is eyeing a takeover of its rival Nasdaq just weeks after announcing a merger with the Toronto stock exchange, the Sunday Times reported.

Deutsche Boerse will have the upper hand in the planned mega-merger deal with NYSE Euronext , the exchange operators' chief executive told a paper, as fears of fading significance linger.

The government reiterated on Sunday that it could tap its strategic oil reserves in order to safeguard economic growth as surging gasoline prices threaten to amp up pressure for action.

A prototype miniature space shuttle blasted off aboard an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday for a demonstration run that could last as long as nine months.

Gold should push higher from its near-record levels due to its appeal as a safe haven, while iron ore should regain its upward momentum on the back of red-hot industrial demand from Asia, forecasters told the world's larger mining conference on Sunday.

Europe's biggest bank HSBC may move its headquarters from London to Hong Kong because of what it sees as high levels of tax and red tape in the UK, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph.

The government reiterated on Sunday that it could tap its strategic oil reserves in order to safeguard economic growth as surging gasoline prices threaten to amp up pressure for action.

Euan Rocha and Julie GordonMetals consultant GFMS sees considerable upside in global precious metals prices as an investor safe haven, its Chairman Philip Klapwijk told the world's largest mining conference on Sunday.

A whole new class of conservative investor is piling into the mining sector -- once the exclusive domain of daring risk-takers -- bringing a bonanza of funding options to junior miners racing toward production.

Germany's main business lobbies on Sunday called on countries sharing the euro currency to adopt tough rules at an upcoming summit aimed at sorting out Europe's debt crisis.

MTV.com is reporting that nude photos of singer Chris Brown were leaked online on Friday.

Following his numerous interviews during the past Week, Charlie Sheen decided to do a live broadcast on the Internet Saturday night.

Athens, the home of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, is the world's most flirtatious city, followed by Moscow, while New York only just makes the top 100, a new study of online flirting showed.

Ireland's new government will stick to the budget targets laid down in an 85 billion euro EU/IMF rescue package as it seeks to win European partners round to giving it easier terms on the loans.

It was a sensational victory for Liverpool as forward Dirk Kuyt scored a hat-trick to down bitter-rivals Manchester United 3-1 in a deserved win at Anfield.

Glencore is reported to have lined up one-time BP executive Rodney Chase as chairman, ahead of a possible flotation that has banks scrambling to resolve client conflicts in the hope of picking up hefty fees.

Stocks will take their cues from the oil market this week as unrest rumbles through the Middle East. But so far equity investors are sanguine, believing the economic recovery wins the day.

Commodities giant Glencore has lined up one-time BP executive Rodney Chase as chairman as it prepares for a possible $60 billion float, the Sunday Times reported.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish played mind games before the crucial encounter between his side and Manchester United, saying referees shouldn't get influenced by those who shout the loudest - an indirect reference to United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ireland's new government will stick to the fiscal targets laid down in an EU/IMF rescue package, a source familiar with the coalition deal agreed between the two main political parties said on Sunday.