Whisper it, but the next challenge for financial markets and policymakers may not be deflation, but the remarkable surge in oil prices from the six-year low touched in January.

Steven Polasck of Corpus Christi, Texas, liked math and science in high school. He considered attending a four-year college but ultimately decided to use his strengths to get a two-year degree in instrumentation from Texas State Technical College. He has not looked back.

U.S. business investment spending plans fell for a seventh straight month in March, weighed down by a strong dollar and lower energy prices, suggesting the economy was struggling to rebound from a recent soft patch.

Starbucks Corp said on Friday night that an outage affecting payment systems at a number of its stores in the United States and Canada had been resolved.

Japan's consumer inflation was expected to edge up slightly in March as oil prices stabilized and consumer goods prices stayed steady, calling the Bank of Japan's bullish forecasts into question.

China said on Friday that urban employment held up in the first quarter even as economic growth slowed to a 6-year low, but the labor ministry warned that authorities cannot be "blindly optimistic" as the pace of job creation is slowing.

China needs to cut lending to coal-related industries and shift more financing to cleaner businesses in order to address a huge funding gap that is hindering the country's war on pollution, a study drawn up in part by central bank researchers said.

Yum Brands Inc, owner of KFC and Pizza Hut chains, on Tuesday said business in its biggest market China is recovering from a meat scare at one of its minor suppliers and the division would finish the year strong.

Anonymous Hackers attacked Israeli websites with minimal success. However, breached military computer networks.

Jaki Kweka is that rare breed of gourmet chocolatier. She makes fine chocolate in Africa using local African ingredients.