China's annual inflation rose sharply in May to its highest level in four months, official data showed Tuesday, easing concerns about deflationary risks in the world's second-biggest economy.

The consumer price index increased 2.5 percent year-on-year last month, accelerating from 1.8 percent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. It was the highest figure since January also saw CPI rise 2.5 percent.

Apple's resurgent stock may have as much to do with financial engineering as the company's technological wizardry.

In late April, the iPhone and iPad maker announced plans to split its stock for the first time in nine years. Since then, Apple's stock has climbed 23 percent, creating more than $100 billion in shareholder wealth while the Standard & Poor's 500 edged up just 4 percent.

As Syria's conflict drags on, refugees who fled to the UAE have recreated a slice of home in the Gulf state, from popular Syrian restaurants to Damascus's iconic Hamidiyeh market.

Amid the gentle bubbling of water pipes and the clack of backgammon pieces, visitors to the Hamidiyeh restaurant reminisce about Damascus in the luxurious Dubai Marina district.  

Oil prices rose Monday after China's exports rose in May, auguring stronger demand from manufacturers in the world's second-largest economy.

Benchmark U.S. oil for July delivery was up 16 cents to $102.82 a barrel at 0615 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract closed Friday up 18 cents at $102.66.

A Vietnamese court on Monday sentenced a disgraced banking tycoon to 30 years in jail over a multi-million dollar scandal that shocked the nation's already fragile financial markets.

Nguyen Duc Kien, 50, was found guilty of fraud, tax evasion, illegal trade and "deliberate wrongdoing causing serious consequences", according to the verdict read at the Hanoi People's Court.

Saudi Arabia is preparing to launch its first sovereign wealth fund to manage budget surpluses from a rise in crude prices estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars, state media reported Saturday.

The central bank has managed investment of the kingdom's foreign currency reserves until now, much of it in U.S. Treasury bonds.

The dollar rallied slightly against the euro and other major currencies Friday after a solid May US jobs report pointed to growth in the world's largest economy.

US employers created more than 200,000 jobs for the fourth straight month in May, the Labor Department said. A net 217,000 positions were added, nearly all by the private sector.

Zambia is seeking help from the International Monetary Fund, after its currency kwacha lost about a fifth of its value and prices of its key export commodity copper slumped, the Fund said Friday.

The "recent steep depreciation of the kwacha is raising inflationary pressures and expansionary fiscal policy has created large budgetary imbalances," said the fund in a statement, after a visit by a team of its experts to the country.

Standard & Poor's on Friday revised up Ireland's sovereign credit rating to 'A-' with a positive outlook from its previous 'BBB+' assessment, citing the eurozone member's improved domestic prospects.

In contrast, the ratings agency held Italy's credit rating at 'BBB', which is two notches above junk level, and maintained its negative outlook.

The U.S. economy has finally regained the jobs lost to the Great Recession. But go easy on the hallelujahs. The comeback is far from complete.

Friday's report from the government revealed an economy healing yet marked by deep and lasting scars. The downturn that began 6½ years ago accelerated wrenching changes that have left many Americans feeling worse off than they did the last time the economy had roughly the same number of jobs it does now.