• White House aide Kellyanne Conway on Monday expressed confidence in the progress of the healthcare bill.
"Very hopeful, very confident that the president can have the bill on his desk this summer," she said during an interview on "Fox & Friends."
• One of the Bank of England's interest rate-setters said on Monday he favoured keeping borrowing costs at their historic low, despite a shift among some of his peers at the central bank in favour of a first hike in a decade.
Gertjan Vlieghe, one of the eight sitting members of the Monetary Policy Committee, told the Independent newspaper:
• North Korea test-launched a ballistic missile from its western region into the sea off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, ahead of a summit of leaders from the Group of 20 nations in Germany later this week.
• North Korea said it successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday, under the supervision of leader Kim Jong Un, and it was capable of hitting anywhere in the world.
The Hwasong-14 missile reached an altitude of 2,802 km (1,741 miles) and hit its target precisely after flying for 39 minutes, the North's state television said.
• China's economic planner has set new guidelines for authorities on how to set policy for the country's booming "sharing economy," in an effort to remove barriers and better regulate an industry deemed an important new driver of economic growth.
China's "sharing economy" is expected to grow about 40 percent this year to 4.83 trillion yuan (544.46billion pounds). By 2020, it could account for around one tenth of China's gross domestic product.
• The European Union expects a political agreement with Japan on Thursday to seal a free trade pact when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Brussels, the European Council said on Tuesday.
Confirming an EU-Japan summit, which had been tentatively planned but which EU officials have said would only go ahead if a deal was certain to be agreed, the Council said in a statement that Abe would meet Council President Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the executive European Commission
• The European Union expects a political agreement with Japan on Thursday to seal a free trade pact when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Brussels, the European Council said on Tuesday.
Confirming an EU-Japan summit, which had been tentatively planned but which EU officials have said would only go ahead if a deal was certain to be agreed, the Council said in a statement that Abe would meet Council President Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the executive European Commission.
• Oil prices retreated in Asian trade on Tuesday, halting a run of eight straight days of gains on signs that a persistent rise in U.S. crude production is running out of steam.
Brent crude futures had fallen 13 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $49.55 per barrel by 0705 GMT (1.05 a.m. ET).
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading down 9 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $46.98 a barrel.
Reference: Telegraph, Reuters
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