IBT Staff Reporter

Swiss Re , the world's second-biggest reinsurer, said reinsurance prices were rising overall, lifting its shares nearly 3 percent.

Fang Yan and Jacqueline WongChinese airlines are negotiating with Boeing Co to further delay taking delivery of 787 Dreamliner orders, a senior Boeing executive said on Monday, as they continue cost-cutting initiatives amid weak international air travel demand.

Shares in Asia rose on Monday after U.S. data showed a slowdown in layoffs, while Chinese shares extended gains on hopes that Beijing will pull out more policy tools as needed to support its volatile stock market.

The WTO has found that loans from European governments to Airbus were not only unfair subsidies but in some cases violated a tougher ban on export aid, according to sources familiar with a report that also rejected some U.S. complaints.

Switzerland-based medical device maker Synthes Inc has won a key ruling in an ongoing U.S. patent case against U.S. competitor Medtronic, the Swiss company said on Monday.

Chinese shares rose on Monday to extend gains on hopes that Beijing will continue to use policy to support asset prices, while gold prices dipped but kept within striking distance of $1,000 after U.S. unemployment rose to a 26-year high.

Spotify, the much-hyped European digital music service, has secured a deal to launch a mobile offering on Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch and phones using the Android platform, it said on Monday.

Toshiba Corp is in talks with Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor and Globalfoundries Inc about outsourcing production of some of its next-generation system chips to help cut costs, two company sources said.

General Electric Co is confident about winning contracts to supply engines for China's big aircraft project, the company's China chief said on Monday.

Chinatrust Financial, Taiwan's top credit card issuer, offered $2.4 billion for AIG's Taiwan Nan Shan Life unit, outbidding rivals, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Saturday.

Oil prices were little changed on Monday, hovering above $68 a barrel, as concerns about weak energy demand in the United States, the world's top energy consumer, were offset by a broad rise in Asian equities markets.

Dueling reforms; Obama's Major Push; Markets Wary

Would The Warriors recognize the Coney Island of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's dreams?

President Barack Obama hopes to use a major speech next week to revitalize his push for healthcare reform -- and his success or failure could help define the rest of his term and perhaps his presidency.

Environmentalists hope the push in Congress for climate change legislation is not overwhelmed by the debate dominating Capitol Hill over changing the U.S. healthcare system. But it might be.

Huntsman , an American chemicals group, is looking to buy chemical plants in China with part of a $2.7 billion compensation package, said senior executive Paul Hulme in a Financial Times interview on Monday.

Every Thursday night, Lonnie Bishop and Lisa Case have a dinner date. For $5 each, the couple dines on fancy hot dogs served from a food truck parked outside their favorite wine shop in Los Angeles.

Oil prices fell below $68 a barrel on Monday on concerns that high unemployment in the United States, the world's top energy consumer, will weigh on demand.

After driving his BMW 5 series model for just three years, Chinese futures trader Jerry Lin traded in his car for an Audi A6.

The AUD/USD roared higher on Friday night to break above the psychological 85 cent level for the first time since September last year. The rally came on the back of increasing risk appetite following a better than expected U.S non-farm payroll number, a clear sign of continued improvement in the jobs market stateside.

In a letter to Barron's, Sears Holdings Corp Chairman Edward Lampert defended the retailer from what he called an inaccurate and biased report in the August 24 edition of the paper.

Financial markets are likely to remain buffeted by uncertainty over government policy despite an unprecedented pledge by the world's top finance officials to cooperate as the global economy emerges from recession.

The creator of

G20 finance leaders on Saturday took aim at excessive bank pay and risk-taking at the root of the financial crisis and insisted trillions of dollars of emergency economic supports would be needed for some time.

A white glove worn by the late singer Michael Jackson sold at auction for A$57,600 ($49,000) in Australia Sunday, nearly twice the price auctioneers expected, the auction house said.

Twenty-second seeded Daniela Hantuchova has lost her chance of reaching the quarterfinals after Serena Williams dominated the court and beat her 6-2, 6-0 on Sunday morning.

Wall Street's mettle will be tested this week as traders return from summer vacations to resurfacing signs of weakness after a six-month rally for stocks.

The row over Britain's relations with Libya took a new turn on Sunday as Gordon Brown denied he had shied away from pressing Tripoli to compensate families of IRA victims who say Libya supplied the guerrillas with arms.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai inched closer to a first-round victory as more results came in from an election last month marred by accusations of fraud.