IBT Staff Reporter

China has abandoned parts of an indigenous innovation push in government buying of high-tech products that has rankled the Obama administration, EU and foreign companies, fearing protectionist barriers.

China will chart its own course in reforming the yuan, President Hu Jintao told President Barack Obama, reinforcing the view that Beijing is likely to tip-toe, not leap, toward appreciation.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 fall 0.1 to 0.3 percent, pointing to a weaker start on Wall Street on Tuesday.

Apple Inc has accepted distribution of Opera Software's Internet browser for its iPhone after a long review, opening a new and potentially lucrative market it has so far closely guarded.

World stocks eased off a 18-1/2 month high on Tuesday ahead of key corporate earnings, while the yen dipped after lawmakers from Japan's ruling party said it should fall to around 120 per dollar.

Austrian Internet bookmaker bwin Interactive Entertainment plans to be present in up to four South American countries within the next two years, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Oil fell for a fifth straight session to about $84 on Tuesday, almost erasing April's gains, as a forecast increase in U.S. crude inventories fanned concern about excess supplies and sluggish demand growth.

Asian shares fell on Tuesday ahead of key earnings in the United States while the euro consolidated against the dollar but fell against the yen ahead of a treasury bill sale by Greece later in the day.

Apple Inc has accepted distribution of Opera Software's Internet browser for its iPhone after a long review, opening a new and potentially lucrative market so far closely guarded by Apple.

Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc on Monday posted its fifth net loss in the past six quarters, but when charges were excluded its results matched Wall Street estimates.

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc said on Monday that its bankruptcy court confirmed its reorganization plan and that it expects to emerge from bankruptcy later this year.

Google Inc's chief executive Eric Schmidt said the company's disruptive business created enemies for world's No.1 search engine, and he said that governments were keeping a close watch on the firm.

President Barack Obama repeated his call for more yuan flexibility during a meeting on Monday with China's Hu Jintao, deploying careful diplomatic language while Beijing stressed dialogue.

American International Group Inc strongly objected last year when U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg imposed large cuts in the cash salaries of two of its top executives, regulatory filings showed on Monday.

New measures are being introduced in South Korea seeking to combat the problem of internet addiction. The move follows the trial of a couple for negligent homicide. Their three-month old daughter died of malnutrition, allegedly because they were too busy raising a virtual child in a Second-Life-style game online known as Prius.

Short interest on the New York Stock Exchange fell at the end of March, while bearish bets on the Nasdaq rose in the same period, suggesting investors remain wary of making large bets against the market rally.

BEIJING, April 13 (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao told U.S. President Barack Obama that Beijing would firmly stick to its own path for reforming the yuan's exchange rate, focusing on China's economic and social development needs.

Internet retailer Amazon.com won approval on Monday to build a distribution center in Canada, despite complaints from Canadian booksellers that it would damage the country's culture.

China's state-owned Sinopec plans to buy ConocoPhillips' stake in the huge Syncrude project in Canada's oil sands for $4.65 billion, marking one of the country's largest investments ever in North America.

Victorian Premier John Brumby sought to trump Mr Rudd's offer to take responsibility for 60 per cent of state hospital funding in return for taking 30 per cent of GST revenues, with a demand for a 50-50 split that would leave the states in control of public hospitals.

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.

A new book about the male mind suggests women should accept that a bloke just can't help it .

On March 17, 2009, a group of mortgage bond investors worried about the losses they could suffer as a result of U.S. foreclosure prevention plans asked top bankers to share the pain by taking some write-downs on $450 billion in home equity loans.

Lowe's Companies Inc said on Monday that it will sell $1 billion of debt in two parts and will use slightly more than half of the net proceeds to pay off notes coming due in June.

MasterCard Inc named Chief Operating Officer Ajay Banga as chief executive, signaling the increasing importance of emerging markets to the credit and debit card processing company.

Barnes & Noble Inc will sell its Nook electronic-book reader at Best Buy Co Inc, expanding distribution as it faces growing competition with the entry of Apple Inc's iPad.

Microsoft Corp launched two new phones aimed at young people on Monday, marking a fresh assault on the low end of the growing smartphone market, where BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd and Apple Inc now dominate.

Pimco will not be buying new Greek debt as it believes a euro zone rescue package fails to tackle the country's longer-term solvency challenges, the chief executive of the bond fund told Reuters.

Taking advantage of easy credit, highly rated U.S. companies are loading up on debt to expand and acquire rivals, sacrificing ratings in the process, Standard & Poor's said on Monday.