MANUFACTURING

New orders for U.S. factory goods rebounded in February and firms increased orders for capital goods, suggesting manufacturing held on to some momentum early in the year.

Futures on major US stock indices point to a slightly lower opening Tuesday as investors awaited the report on factory orders and minutes of the latest Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

Most Asian stock markets advanced Tuesday as better-than-expected readings on US manufacturing and China's services industries data lifted sentiment while stronger yen hurt Japanese shares.

The US stocks rose Monday on the back of strong manufacturing data, lifting Dow Jones Industrial Average to the highest level since 2007.

Asian shares rose Tuesday, riding on the back of strong gains in global equities overnight after solid manufacturing data from the United States and leading Asian exporters offset signs of mild recession in Europe.

Stocks and other risky assets rallied Monday after a widely followed U.S. manufacturing index suggested activity in that industrial sector further strengthened in March.

Even though nobody outside of Cupertino knows what the iPhone 5 looks like, that hasn't stopped artists from fashioning their own concept designs of Apple's sixth-generation smartphone. The latest Apple iPhone 5 design comes from South Korean product designer Jinyoung Choi, called iPhone PRO.

U.S. manufacturing grew alongside the overall economy in March, rising 1 percent over the previous month's level, according to the March purchasing managers index (PMI) of the Institute for Supply Management.

The pace of growth in manufacturing picked up last month, but construction spending saw its largest drop in seven months in February, pointing to an economy that is healing gradually.

Gold prices rose above $1,680 an ounce on Monday as the dollar steadied off earlier one-month highs against the euro, with the U.S. unit further paring gains after U.S. construction spending and manufacturing data.

Wall Street advanced on Monday, the first trading day of the second quarter, as upbeat Chinese and manufacturing data overshadowed a report showing continued softness in Europe.

Unemployment in the euro zone grew to 10.8 percent in February, up from 10.7 percent in the prior month and the highest since the euro was adopted as a currency, Eurostat, the statistical arm of the European Commission, said Monday.

The FDA rejected a petition that would have banned the controversial chemical BPA, a plastic hardener linked to a variety of health effects such as cancer and neurological issues.

The unemployment rate in the eurozone increased to its highest level in 14 years in February, as the region’s faltering economic growth left more than 17 million people jobless in the month.

An ATR-72 twin-engine turboprop carrying 43 people crashed during an attempted emergency landing in a snow-covered field near Tyumen, in western Siberia.

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, a gauge of manufacturing sector performance, unexpectedly jumped to the highest level in a year, while a rival index by HSBC showed further weakening in the sector.

China's manufacturing sector expanded rapidly in March, confounding expectations of a contraction and easing fears about a potential hard landing for the world's second-biggest economy.

Most Asian stock markets ended with gains Monday as higher-than-expected reading of China’s official Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) boosted sentiment.

(Reuters) - Asia's manufacturers stepped up the pace in March to fill an influx of new orders as Europe's debt crisis subsided and U.S. growth picked up, dispelling some of the gloom that had shrouded the global economy.

There are always a lot of rumors ahead of the launch of the new device, especially if Apple is involved, and as the new iPad is out, anticipation is now building up for the iPhone 5. Needless to say, there are increasingly more rumors piling up around the next-generation iPhone, but we need to draw a line between facts and fiction - or at least try.

Since its introduction in June 2007, the iPhone has taken the word by storm, but one question dominates the general conversation: When's the next one coming out? Thankfully, fans won't have to wait any later than October to get their hands on Apple's latest iPhone design.