The US and China forged a new solution to the dilemma surrounding Chen Guangcheng after an original deal fell apart, with a path open for the legal activist to study in the US. Chen has been offered a fellowship at an American university, and can be accompanied by his wife and two children, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

'Blind activist offered US fellowship'

Business Standard

Demonstrators took to the streets in May Day protests across the US, sending a singing &ldquo;Guitarmy&rdquo; to Manhattan&rsquo;s Union Square, smashing windows in Seattle and seizing a vacant building in San Francisco.

Occupy protesters hit US streets amid music, tear gas

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman suggested Federal Reserve policy makers led by Ben S Bernanke are &ldquo;reckless&rdquo; for refusing to pursue higher inflation, which he said could lower US unemployment.

Krugman says Fed 'reckless' to allow high jobless rate

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said Europe is in a &ldquo;dire&rdquo; situation, as a focus on austerity pushes the continent towards &ldquo;suicide.&rdquo; &ldquo;There has never been any successful austerity programme in any large country,&rdquo; Stiglitz, 69, told reporters in Vienna on Thursday. &ldquo;The European approach definitely is the least promising. I think Europe is headed to a suicide.

Europe pushed to 'suicide' on austerity, says Stiglitz 

The US economy expanded less than forecast in the first quarter as a smaller contribution from inventories overshadowed the biggest gain in consumer spending in more than a year.

US economy grows 2.2% in Q1 but misses forecast

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke took on Nobel prize-winning economist and called his advice to reduce unemployment by boosting inflation &ldquo;reckless&rdquo;.

Bernanke takes on Krugman

Bankers face a backlash from European Union lawmakers determined to cut their bonuses as part of a quest to reshape lenders as utilities like water and electricity providers rather than money-making machines.

Bonuses under threat in EU vision of banks as utilities

The UK economy shrank in the first quarter as construction output slumped, pushing Britain into its first double-dip recession since the 1970s.

UK returns to recession in first quarter on building slump

Aviva Plc, UK&rsquo;s second-largest insurer by market value, said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Moss would not accept his 2012 salary rise. The move follows talks with shareholders on whether the compensation of executive directors reflect the firm&rsquo;s 2011 performance, London-based Aviva said on Monday. Moss&rsquo;s salary was due to rise five per cent to &pound;1 million ($1.6 million) in April from &pound;951,000 last year, according to the company&rsquo;s annual report.

Aviva CEO won't accept 2012 salary rise

Global investors this month pulled the most money from stock funds in any April in at least 17 years, amid escalating concern that Europe&rsquo;s economy was faltering.

Equity fund redemptions in April are largest in 17 years

News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch is &ldquo;not a fit person&rdquo; to lead a major international company, UK lawmakers said, after his Britain unit misled Parliament about the extent of phone hacking at its News of the World tabloid.

Murdoch 'unfit' to lead firm

The Renault-Nissan alliance will form a joint venture with Russian Technologies Corp to become the largest shareholder in OAO AvtoVAZ, Russia&rsquo;s biggest auto maker.

Renault-Nissan to take control of Russia's AvtoVAZ

European investors on Thursday rebuked companies including Aviva Plc, UBS AG and Inmarsat Plc for failing to keep executive pay in check with stock performance. Shareholders voted down Aviva&rsquo;s compensation report with a 54 per cent majority while 37 per cent of investors opposed UBS&rsquo;s pay plan and 40 per cent opposed Inmarsat&rsquo;s planned executive pay.

Investors ire on companies

Banks may have to disclose profits from carry trades derived from 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) in European Central Bank loans and exclude the money from bonus pools, under draft proposals from European Union lawmakers.

Banks may have to disclose profits from ECB emergency loans

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain&rsquo;s biggest publicly assisted lender, will pay back the last of its emergency aid from the UK taxpayer, bringing the company a step closer to moving out of government ownership.

RBS to repay last of government aid, reinstate dividends

Microsoft Inc should sell its Bing search business to Facebook Inc, a deal worth about $5 billion that would help both companies compete with Google Inc, said Rick Sherlund, an analyst at Nomura Equity Research.

Microsoft should sell Bing unit to Facebook: Nomura

British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc's Sky News channel breached criminal law by hacking into e-mails for a story, a judge said at an media-ethics inquiry triggered by wrongdoing at News Corp tabloids.

Sky News breached criminal law in email hack: Ethics judge 

Samsung Electronics overtook Nokia as the world&rsquo;s biggest vendor of mobile phones for the first time, ending the Finnish company&rsquo;s 14-year run as the global leader, according to an industry study.

Samsung ends Nokia's 14-year run as largest phone handset maker

The first live question International Business Machines Corp (IBM) Chief Executive Officer Virginia &lsquo;Ginni&rsquo; Rometty faced at Wednesday&rsquo;s shareholder meeting was if Georgia&rsquo;s Augusta National Golf Club had admitted her as a member.

IBM shareholder asks CEO Rometty if Augusta has admitted her

Apple Inc profit almost doubled last quarter, reflecting robust demand for the iPhone in China and purchases of a new version of the iPad, allaying the growth concerns that sliced shares 12 per cent in two weeks.

Apple profit up 94% on growing iPhone demand globally

Rupert Murdoch, under fire nine months after a phone-hacking scandal engulfed News Corp&rsquo;s UK unit, told a media-ethics inquiry that abuses went beyond voice-mail interceptions at its News of the World tabloid.

Bloomberg