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• Spain's obsession with high-speed trains runs into budget reality Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 10:54 AM ET

  *Spain inaugurates new route between Madrid and Alicante. ONBOARD MADRID- ALICANTE HIGH-SPEED TRAIN, June 17- A one-track dirt road used by local farmers is the main access to a magnificent glass-and-steel train station in the small city of Villena, on Spain's latest high-speed rail route.

• UPDATE 1-Russia to slow pace of privatisation - paper Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 9:31 AM ET

  MOSCOW, June 17- Russia plans to delay its privatisation programme and hold on to stakes in state companies such as Rosneft for longer, a report said on Monday, compounding disappointment for investors who have been pulling money from the country.

• UPDATE 4-West scolds Putin over Syria before G8 meeting Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 9:28 AM ET

  *Obama, Putin likely to square off over Syria. ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland, June 17- Western leaders criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin for supporting Syria's Bashar al-Assad in his battle to crush a two-year-old uprising, setting the stage for what could be a difficult meeting of world leaders over Monday and Tuesday.

• Fridman's Alfa Group sets up energy fund, to invest $20 bln Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 9:00 AM ET

  MOSCOW, June 17- Billionaire Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group will invest $20 billion or more in global oil and gas projects through a new fund it has set up that will be advised by top-ranking former oil bosses, including ex- BP chief executive Lord Browne.

• Cash-strapped Europe pools defence, saves little so far Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 7:55 AM ET

  ZARAGOZA, Spain, June 17- At military exercises in northern Spain, French and Spanish fighters fly alongside Swedish and Czech transport aircraft while a multinational team of mechanics changes the engine on a Belgian plane.

• UPDATE 4-Oil above $106 as Syrian conflict intensifies Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 7:09 AM ET

  LONDON, June 17- Brent crude oil rose above $106 per barrel on Monday as a superpower standoff over the Syrian civil war intensified, raising the risk of conflict spilling into the Middle East oil producing region.

• Obama takes economic, foreign policy agenda to UK Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 7:08 AM ET

  WASHINGTON-- President Barack Obama is taking a security, foreign policy and economic agenda to Northern Ireland for a meeting with heads of the leading industrial nations. Obama left Washington on Sunday night and is scheduled to arrive in Belfast on Monday, ahead of the Group of eight summit, and give a speech focused on Northern Ireland's reconciliation.

• GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar firms as Fed meeting nears, shares bound higher Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 5:56 AM ET

  LONDON, June 17- The dollar edged up against the yen and euro while European and Asian shares recouped some of last week's losses on Monday, as investors hunkered down for the U.S. After a 2.7 percent jump in Japan's Nikkei had lifted Asian markets, European shares headed towards mid-morning up 1 percent.

• Can the G8 Tackle Tax Issues?   Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 5:50 AM ET

  

  Tina Fordham, senior political analyst at Citi, comments on the U.S.'s decision to arm Syrian rebels and says that while leaders agree that tax issues need to be tackled, it will be very difficult for them to agree on a common framework.

• G8? Or G7 Against Russia?   Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 5:40 AM ET

  

  Chuck Todd, chief White House correspondent for NBC, discusses the upcoming G8 meeting and explains why it feels like it's really just the G7 against Russia.

• UPDATE 2-Putin and Obama set to spar over Syria arms at G8 Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 5:35 AM ET

  *Obama faces international row over Syria at G8. ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland, June 17- U.S. President Barack Obama faces what could be a frosty G8 meeting with Vladimir Putin on Monday after the Russian leader clashed with the West over plans to arm Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

• UPDATE 3-Oil steadies above $106 on Mideast, expected demand Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 5:19 AM ET

  *Middle East supply risks as Syria conflict escalates. LONDON, June 17- Brent crude oil steadied above $106 per barrel on Monday as a superpower standoff over the Syrian civil war intensified, raising the risk of conflict spilling into the Middle East oil producing region.

• UPDATE 2-Brent steady around $106; demand concerns, Fed meet in focus Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 3:39 AM ET

  SINGAPORE, June 17- Brent crude futures steadied around $106 a barrel on Monday after hitting more than two-month highs in the previous session, as worries over bulging U.S. inventories and soft global demand forecasts offset supply concerns tied to Middle East tensions.

• UPDATE 1-Obama, Putin face tough talks on Syria at G8 summit Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 3:18 AM ET

  *Obama to seek common ground with Putin on Syria. President Barack Obama will seek the help on Monday of Russia's Vladimir Putin, Syria's most powerful ally, to bring Bashar al-Assad to the negotiating table and end a two-year civil war.

• UPDATE 1-Brent dips below $106 as focus back on demand, stocks Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 1:05 AM ET

  SINGAPORE, June 17- Brent crude futures traded below $106 a barrel on Monday, as worries over bulging U.S. inventories and soft global demand forecasts overshadowed supply concerns tied to Middle East tensions.

• Brent dips below $106 as focus back on demand, stocks Sunday, 16 Jun 2013 | 10:13 PM ET

  SINGAPORE, June 17- Brent crude futures traded below $106 a barrel on Monday, as worries over bulging U.S. inventories and soft global demand forecasts overshadowed supply concerns tied to Middle East tensions.

• Obama, Putin face tough talks on Syria at G8 summit Sunday, 16 Jun 2013 | 7:00 PM ET

  LOUGH ERNE, Northern Ireland, June 17- U.S. President Barack Obama will seek the help on Monday of Russia's Vladimir Putin, Syria's most powerful ally, to bring Bashar al-Assad to the negotiating table and end a two-year civil war.

• UPDATE 2-Britain moves on tax dodges ahead of G8 summit Saturday, 15 Jun 2013 | 11:35 AM ET

  LONDON, June 15- Britain turned up the pressure on other rich economies to clamp down on secretive money flows at a summit next week by pressing its overseas tax havens into a transparency deal and announcing new disclosure rules for British firms.

• Whoa, Immortality by 2035? Mind-Blowing Investing Friday, 14 Jun 2013 | 5:15 PM ET

  

  Russian tycoon Dmitry Itskov is convening a meeting of the minds to explore the possibility of creating lifelike copies of humans, something he thinks is possible by 2035.

• UPDATE 1-Canada delays Wind Mobile deals on security concerns -report Friday, 14 Jun 2013 | 3:43 PM ET

  TORONTO, June 14- National security concerns have delayed the Canadian government's approval of two deals that would solidify Vimpelcom Ltd's ownership of wireless carrier Wind Mobile, a Canadian newspaper reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.