While U Slept: Big 5 Overnight News. Thursday, September 16, 2010

POPE ARRIVES IN BRITAIN Queen Elizabeth II greets Pope Benedict XVI, as he begins a controversial four-day trip to Britain. (CNN)

ABBAS SEES ‘NO ALTERNATIVE’ TO PEACE Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas strikes a positive tone after two days of inconclusive Middle East peace talks, saying he sees “no alternative to peace through negotiations.” (AP)

TALIBAN CALLS FOR BOYCOTT OF AFGHAN PARLIAMENTARY VOTE After having already killed three candidates, the Taliban calls for a nationwide boycott of Afghanistan’s upcoming parliamentary elections. (AFP)

SOUTH KOREA CONSIDERING DIPLOMATIC TALKS WITH NORTH KOREA South Korean officials confirm that the country is considering engaging in military talks with Pyongyang for the first time in two years. (BBC)

YEN CONTINUES RISE AGAINST DOLLAR The Japanese yen rises against the dollar and other world currencies, while the euro hits its highest point against the dollar in a month. (Reuters)

While U Slept. The Big 5 Overnight Stories. Wednesday, September 15, 2010

TEA PARTY SURGES, REPUBLICANS SPLINTER Christine O’Donnell nets surprise victory in Delaware Senate GOP primary. But is continued success of insurgent challengers a sign of new Republican party energy or a fatal schism? (Politico)

REPORT: PEDOPHILE PRIESTS IN UK REMAINED IN CLERGY Ahead of Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival in Britain, a TV network probe finds that more than half of the Catholic clergy jailed for sex abuse in England and Wales remain in the priesthood. (Channel 4/Guardian)

MITCHELL SAYS MIDEAST TALKS “MOVING IN RIGHT DIRECTION” Special US envoy George Mitchell keeps talks from breaking up, even if no visible progress has yet been made, as negotiations relocate to Jerusalem. (BBC)

SEVEN KILLED IN FALLUJAH RAID, REMINDER THAT U.S. FORCES STILL FIGHTING Joint raid in the former insurgent stronghold highlights the ongoing fighting role of American forces in Iraq despite the official end of combat operations. (AP)

AL QAEDA’S NO. 2 IN NEW AUDIO TAPE Ayman al-Zawahri calls on Pakistanis to revolt against government for responding too slowly to flooding. The 44-minute recording comes four days after anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. (Reuters)

BONUS: JAPAN SELLS YEN, HOPING TO STEM CURRENCY RISE Tokyo sells currency on market for the first time in six years to try to weaken yen in order to help exporters and boost recovery. (Bloomberg)

While U Slept: Biz & Buz. Big 5 Business Stories Breaking Overnight. 07/22/10

BERNANKE’S COMMENTS SEND DOLLAR TO 7-MONTH LOW VS. YEN The dollar slides to a 7 month low against the yen, after Ben Bernanke announced that the US economic outlook was “unusually uncertain.” (Reuters)

EUROPEAN SERVICES, MANUFACTURING ACCELERATE GROWTH IN JULY Growth in European services and manufacturing accelerates unexpectedly in July, amid easing concern over Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. (BusinessWeek)

CREDIT SUISSE REPORTS SMALL RISE IN PROFIT Credit Suisse announces a sharp drop in second quarter trading revenue, but says its profits grew by a small margin. (NYT)

VOLVO BEATS PROFITS FORECAST, BENEFITS FROM TRUCK DEMAND Volvo reports its second consecutive net profit, but sticks to its yearly forecasts, despite the strong second quarter showing. (WSJ)

EUROPEAN BANK STRESS TEST RESULTS COULD COME EARLY Sources tell Reuters that results from a pan-European bank stress test could be published earlier than expected. (ABC/Reuters)

While U Slept: Biz&Buz. Big 5 Business Stories Breaking Overnight. Friday, 06/04/10

MCDONALD’S TO RECALL 12 MILLION ‘SHREK’ GLASSES, TAINTED WITH CADMIUM The US Consumer Product Safety Commission announces a voluntary recall of 12 million ‘Shrek’ glasses from McDonald’s, upon discovering that the 16-oz. cups were tainted with cadmium, posing a potential health risk to children. (Forbes)

NIKKEI INDEX FALLS SLIGHTLY, RETAINS GAINS AFTER ELECTION OF NEW JAPANESE PM Japan’s Nikkei 225 falls in Friday trading, but still retains substantial gains made the previous day–even after Finance Minister Naoto Kan was announced as the new Prime Minister. Many consider Kan to be a strong proponent of a weaker yen. (Reuters)

EURO STOCKS RISE ON US UNEMPLOYMENT SPECULATION, BP SHARES SURGE Stoxx Europe 600 Index rises 0.8% in early trading, on speculation that US employers added jobs in May. Meanwhile, shares of BP jumped 4% after engineers managed to place a cap on the sunken oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. (Bloomberg)

G20 FINANCE MINISTERS TO SUPPORT EURO RESCUE PACKAGE THIS WEEKEND Meeting in Busan, South Korea this weekend, finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies will reportedly announce their endorsement of European proposals to rein in the Continental debt crisis. (BBC)

WORLD BANK ASKS G20 TO DO MORE FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES World Bank leaders urge the Group of 20 leading world economies to make developing country issues a higher priority on their agenda, arguing that the plight of less advanced economies falls squarely within their own “self-interest.”(AP)

While U Slept: Biz&Buz. The 5 Big Overnight Business Stories. Wednesday, 06/02/10

WORLD STOCKS DOWN FOLLOWING US DROP, RISING GLOBAL TENSIONS Analysts point to European debt, Gulf spill, Japanese politics as markets in Europe and Asia follow Wall St. drop. (AP)

YEN DROPS ON NEWS OF PRIME MINISTER RESIGNATION After dramatic exit of Hatoyama for his handling of US military base, likely successor has been advocate of weaker currency. (Bloomberg)

AIA EYES TAKEOVER BID AFTER PRUDENTIAL ENDS AIG ASIAN PURSUIT Prudential licks wounds, totals costs, after officially renouncing $35.5 billion takeover of AIG’s Asian life insurance arm. News could pave the way for American International Assurance’s (AIA) rumored $15 billion IPO. (Reuters)

FOXCONN RAISES SALARIES OF CHINESE WORKER 33%. IMMEDIATELY Follows rash of suicides at factories that produce Apple and other high-tech products. Honda also announces labor action resolved as workers’ rights movements gain traction in Asia. (NYT)

SEE STEVE TALK. JOBS ANSWERS RANGE OF QUESTIONS ON APPLE’S FUTURE What is happening with Apple and Google? Steve Jobs explains. (AllThingsD video)