IBT Staff Reporter

The last week of summer could prove to be anything but relaxing for stock investors worried about the economy, with the crucial August jobs report on the agenda.

Voters in three German states headed to the polls on Sunday for regional elections that are seen as a key test of sentiment before a federal vote next month in which Chancellor Angela Merkel hopes to win a second term.

Men who said they had been fighting Myanmar government troops in fierce battles over recent days streamed into China on Sunday, saying their long-autonomous enclave had fallen and its future was in doubt.

Afghanistan's election fraud watchdog said on Sunday it is probing 567 allegations of abuse it considers serious enough to affect the outcome of the Aug 20 vote, more than double the number announced two days ago.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's proposed new cabinet came in for criticism from some lawmakers in a heated parliamentary debate Sunday, but one senior MP signaled support for the surprise oil minister nominee.

Britain agreed to include Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi in a prisoner transfer deal with Libya because of overwhelming interests shortly before an oil deal was sealed with Tripoli, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

Japanese voters swept the opposition to a historic victory in an election on Sunday, ousting the long-ruling conservative party and handing the novice Democrats the job of reviving a struggling economy.

General Motors said on Sunday it has agreed to set up a light commercial vehicle production venture with major Chinese automaker FAW Group, with total investment of 2 billion yuan ($293 million).

Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said he plans legislation to restrict the Federal Reserve's emergency lending powers and subject the central bank to a complete audit.

South Korea's LG Electronics said on Sunday it would launch a 15-inch television set using organic display technology next month, the largest commercial model so far.

Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, hopes to craft a compromise bill with lawmakers who want to open Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions to audits, a spokesman for Frank said on Saturday.

American International Group Inc and Steven Udvar-Hazy, head of its International Lease Finance Corp unit, are weighing several options for the aircraft leasing business, including breaking up the company, two sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

France has secured the names and details of some 3,000 suspected tax evaders with Swiss bank accounts in what the budget minister described as a first in its battle against banking secrecy.

President Barack Obama hailed Senator Edward Kennedy as the greatest legislator of our time at the funeral on Saturday of the towering politician and patriarch of the pre-eminent American political dynasty.

U.S. presidents, political leaders, friends and family gathered on Saturday to say goodbye to Senator Edward Kennedy.

DJ AM, the stage name of disc jockey Adam Goldstein whose music could be heard on albums by Madonna and Will Smith, was found dead in his New York apartment on Friday, police said. He was 36.

U.S. President Barack Obama delivered an impressive eulogy at Edward Kennedy's funeral on Saturday calling him as a champion for those who had none; the soul of the Democratic Party; and the lion of the U.S. Senate.

A new face of homelessness is emerging in the U.S., downtrodden from today’s economic climate.

China's Geely Automotive (0175.HK) has submitted the only concrete bid so far for Ford Motor-owned (F.N) carmaker Volvo Car Corporation, a business daily reported on Saturday, citing an undisclosed source.

CHICAGO - The CEO of International Lease Finance Corp, the aircraft leasing company owned by insurance giant American International Group (AIG.N), is in early talks to buy a portion of ILFC's aircraft portfolio and start a new leasing company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Hurricane Jimena formed in the eastern Pacific near the Mexican resort of Acapulco on Saturday, but in the Atlantic Tropical Storm Danny weakened to a tropical depression and storm alerts were discontinued for the North Carolina coast.

A year ago the King of Pop sent his 50th birthday watching cartoons according to reports from the Daily Telegraph.

Below is the funeral schedule set for Edward Kennedy who died of brain cancer at age 77 at home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

Fighting erupted in northeast Myanmar on Saturday after days of clashes in which the leader of ethnic forces said more than 30 government troops had been killed.

The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people said he would cooperate with a fresh public inquiry and provide documents he has, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

Iran said on Saturday the U.N. atomic watchdog had confirmed its nuclear programme was peaceful and vowed to resist political pressure to change it, a news agency reported.

Partial Afghan election returns released on Saturday showed President Hamid Karzai extending his lead in last week's vote, but still falling short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off.

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou will not be meeting the Dalai Lama when the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader visits next week, the president's office said on Saturday, a move aimed at avoiding renewed tensions with China.

Polls show the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which has vowed to put more money in the hands of households, looks poised for a huge win over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Sunday's election.