By Ayai Tomisawa TOKYO (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average surged to a fresh 5-1/2 year high on Monday, buoyed by further weakness in the yen and optimism over the growth outlook after the Japanese government raised its assessment of the economy for the first time in two months. Signs of an improving U.S. economy and Wall Street's record clos... [Full Article]
Twitter was amused earlier today by reports of a Saudi Arabian sheikh dooming Twitter users to a loss of "this world and his afterlife." What to an American observer seems like inexplicable hyperbole may actually be an escalation of attempts to crackdown on a key tool for dissent. (Source: The Atlantic Wire)... [Full Article]
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer sentiment rebounded in early May to the highest level in nearly six years as Americans felt better about their financial and economic prospects, particularly among upper-income households, a survey released on Friday showed. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index on c... [Full Article]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China launched a large missile on Monday that reached 6,200 miles above the earth, its highest suborbital launch since 1976, according to a U.S. scientist at Harvard University. Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said the rocket was launched from the Xichang Satellite Laun... [Full Article]
By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - China's decision to ease a boycott of some $11 billion in Airbus jet orders followed a high-level appeal from the planemaker urging Beijing to recognize its support over a trade row with Europe, a letter seen by Reuters shows. It gives a glimpse into the intensity of the lobbying in the dispute, which help... [Full Article]