CHINA

The earnings season, which starts with Alcoa Inc. reporting first quarter results Tuesday, is expected to be sluggish and could witness markets struggling to maintain gains made in the past several weeks.

Asian shares eased Tuesday as investors cautiously awaited Chinese trade data to gauge whether the world's second-largest economy could achieve a soft landing, after a sharp slowdown in U.S. jobs creation clouded prospects for global growth.

China expressed consternation over the decision of the Australian government to ban telecommunications giant Huawei from competing in its new national broadband network over concerns for cybersecurity.

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff said she used an official visit to President Obama to press her concern that monetary policy pursued by the U.S. and Europe was inhibiting Brazil's economic growth.

King concedes that quitting the euro zone and reintroducing its drachma currency would likely lead to financial and economic turmoil, but the move would ultimately benefit the Mediterranean country.

North Korea is preparing a third nuclear test at the site where it carried out its two previous tests, South Korean media report. The news further complicates an already tense situation in the Korean peninsula, following the North's decision to go ahead with a rocket launch feared by its neighbors.

Maryland officials have put a bounty on the snakehead, also know as the fish from hell, in an aim to save eco-systems from being devastated.

President Obama will host Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff on Monday in an effort to strengthen ties between two of the world's largest economies.

Gold prices rose more than 1 percent on Monday, recovering from last week's hefty drop after disappointing U.S. jobs data revived hopes for fresh monetary easing and a spike in Chinese inflation boosted appetite for the metal.

Just last year, Andrea Jung was among the most powerful women in the world. On Monday, Avon announced her replacement as chief executive -- Sherilyn McCoy, a 30-year veteran of Johnson & Johnson.

Setting conditions before the meeting means drawing conclusions, which is completely meaningless, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said, referring to discussions set for Saturday in Turkey with the so-called P-5 Plus 1 group.

Major stock indexes were set to open about 1 percent lower on Monday after last week's much weaker-than-expected report on March U.S. job creation.

The Knight Frank Wealth Report 2012 has predicted which cities will lead the world in 2050, in terms of geopolitical power and importance.

U.S. stock index futures traded lower on Monday after last week's much weaker-than-expected report on U.S. job creation for March.

The count down has begun for North Korea's controversial rocket launch, which is scheduled to take place between April 12 and 16, any time between 7 a.m. to noon local time. North Korea has made it clear that it would not budge to the international pressure to halt the launch.

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has raised its stake in Xstrata Plc to a little over 5 percent, which is valued around $2.7 billion, in advance of the Anglo-Swiss miner's intended merger with Glencore International Plc.

Futures on major US indices point to a lower opening Monday after US non-farm payrolls data showed that the world's biggest economy added fewer-than-expected jobs in March.

Asian stock markets declined for the fourth day on Monday as weaker-than-expected US employment report raised concerns about the strength of recovery in the world’s biggest economy.

As India takes small steps toward overhauling its lumbering higher-education system, U.S. colleges and universities want a part of the action. Now a new chapter is being written and the authors are the Obama and Singh administrations.

Premier Wen Jiabao recently said China's consumer price inflation target for the year would be around 4 percent. On Friday, data on first-quarter gross domestic product should indicate if any change in monetary policy is needed.

Proceeds of initial public offerings listed in the United States were relatively light in the first quarter, but they are likely to get absolutely heavier in the second quarter -- especially should Facebook Inc. conduct its anticipated $5 billion IPO in May.