IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. manufacturing mustered its highest level of activity in nearly a year in June but surprising weakness in private sector employment signaled how feeble an economic recovery might be, reports released on Wednesday showed.

Stocks rose on Wednesday, the start of the third quarter, as reassuring manufacturing data from China, Europe and the United States reinforced hopes that the world's economy is on the road to recovery.

Picking through Toyota's suffering U.S. sales performance in June, observers find many well known brands which have suffered at the hands of a down economy but nuggets of positivity in the carmaker's lineup will reveal gains for its Lexus RX sports utility vehicle, Prius hybrid and RAV4, a small SUV.

The assets of Hong Kong's Exchange Fund totaled HK$1.7601 trillion ($225.6 billion) in May, up HK$114.7 billion ($14.7 billion) on April, officials said on Tuesday.

The U.S. government will soon release $4 billion in loans and grants aimed at expanding broadband access across the United States, officials said on Wednesday.

Bill Gross, the influential investor who runs top bond fund Pimco, said on Wednesday that greed will eventually become the norm again for consumers and investors, but fear continues to rule for now -- a mindset that will result in subdued U.S. economic growth for some time.

U.S. auto sales tumbled in June as the economy remained a deep concern for consumers, but Ford Motor Co posted far better results than other large automakers and shot ahead of Detroit rivals passing through federally sponsored bankruptcies.

Stocks rose on Wednesday, the first day of the third quarter, as investors took reassuring manufacturing data from China, Europe and the United States as signaling the world's economy is on the road to recovery.

Major automakers posted better U.S. auto sales for June than in recent months on Wednesday, led by Ford Motor Co as results pointed to signs of some stabilizing in the hard-hit industry.

General Mills Inc , forecast better-than-expected earnings for the current fiscal year, helped by new products and moderating commodity costs.

TEGUCIGALPA - The Honduran interim government defied international pressure on Wednesday and vowed there was no chance at all of ousted President Manuel Zelaya returning to office.

The ousted President of Honduras said Wednesday in Washington he did not expect to return home before the weekend.

Boeing Co , the world's second-largest planemaker, is in talks to buy a plant that makes part of the fuselage of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Thousands of fans gathered on Tuesday night in Apollo Theater in New York City to pay their last tributes to the King of Pop Michael Jackson where he performed as a child.

Stocks rose on Wednesday, the first day of the third quarter, as investors took reassuring manufacturing data from China, Europe and the United States as a fresh signal that the world's economy is on the road to recovery.

If General Motors wins court approval for its asset sale this week, a New GM could be ready to make an initial public offering in 2010, a U.S. Treasury official testified in U.S. bankruptcy court on Wednesday.

General Motors Corp (GM) sold a total of 814,442 units from January to June in China, a record for any half-year, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

HP on Wednesday said it will use AMD first six-core Opteron 2400 processor in its xw900 professional workstation.

Details of Michael Jackson's will began to emerge on Wednesday with all of his multi million-dollar estate being placed in a family trust, even as plans for his highly anticipated funeral remained sketchy.

Since 2006, U.S. taxpayers have paid nearly $155,000 to send home health nurses to inject twice-daily insulin shots for an elderly, diabetic Miami man.

Adoring fans have flocked to see him on visits around the world, but Barack Obama should expect a far cooler reception in Russia next week.

Major automakers posted better U.S. auto sales for June than in recent months on Wednesday, led by Ford Motor Co as results pointed to signs of some stabilizing in the hard-hit industry.

Bill Gross, who runs the world's biggest bond fund, said on Wednesday that greed will make a comeback among consumers and investors but cautioned it may well take at least one generation to unfold.

Obesity rates continued to climb in the past year with 23 U.S. states reporting adults in their states are fatter now than they were a year ago, two advocacy groups said on Wednesday.

Family and friends of actress Farrah Fawcett, who died last week at age 62 gathered on Tuesday at the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles to hold a private funeral.

Ford Fusion was the vehicle with the highest jump in sales for Ford Motor Co. in June, as sales of the majority of the car maker's lineup slipped as summer begins.

A sizable minority of adolescents believe they are likely to die at a young age, and this perception is a powerful predictor of involvement in high risk behaviors and poor health outcomes, according to a report in the journal Pediatrics.

French officials announced that the black box from the crashed Yemenia Airways jet which plunged into the Indian Ocean was in fact not found contradicting earlier reports that the boxes had been found.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday confirmed that it has found E. coli O157:H7 bacteria in a sample of Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough.