PARIS (AP) — International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is facing questions at a special Paris court Thursday over her role in the 400 million euro ($520 million) pay-off to a controversial businessman when she was France's finance minister.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's financial markets gyrated wildly Thursday, underscoring the vulnerability of its economy to a loss of investor confidence as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attempts shock monetary easing to end two decades of stagnation.

BEIJING (AP) — A survey shows China's manufacturing contracted this month, adding to signs a fragile recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is slowing.

LONDON (AP) — Financial markets around the world were roiled Thursday after Japanese stocks suffered their biggest slide since the country was hit by a devastating tsunami more than two years ago.

TOKYO (AP) — Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands.

DENVER (AP) — In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is asking a federal appeals court Thursday for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House lawmakers are ready to pass legislation that links student loan rates to the financial markets in spite of a veto threat from President Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy is recovering, the White House is dealing with multiple controversies, and President Barack Obama appears generally unaffected either way.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Google Inc.'s new music service offers a lot of eye candy to go with the tunes. The song selection of around 18 million tracks is comparable to popular services such as Spotify and Rhapsody, and a myriad of playlists curated along different genres provides a big playground for music lovers.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A government investigation found that "extremely" poor quality construction materials and a series of violations caused the collapse of a garment factory building in Bangladesh that has been called the worst garment-industry disaster in history, the committee head said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Urban renewal? New census estimates show that most of the nation's largest cities further enhanced their allure last year, posting strong population growth for a second straight year.

SYDNEY (AP) — Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it will close its two Australian auto plants, ending production in the country in 2016, amid soaring manufacturing costs and plummeting sales.

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets fell Thursday, weighed down by a contraction in China's manufacturing that adds to signs a shaky recovery in the world's No.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans pushed through a bill Wednesday to bypass the president to speed approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas.

CHICAGO (AP) — The lawyer for an 87-year-old woman who accuses Donald Trump of cheating her in a skyscraper condo deal told jurors in Chicago on Wednesday that he was personally repulsed because he felt the "Apprentice" star conned his client and lied about it on the witness stand.

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the center of a political storm, an Internal Revenue Service supervisor whose agents targeted conservative groups swore Wednesday she did nothing wrong, broke no laws and never lied to Congress.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hewlett-Packard is still scrambling to meet the growing demand for more versatile and less expensive mobile devices as a slump in its personal computer sales deepens, but the company's cost-cutting measures and focus on more profitable areas of technology appear to be easing the pain.

SWARTHMORE, Pa. (AP) — Student activists at more than 200 colleges are trying a new tactic in hopes of slowing the pace of climate change: They are asking their schools to stop investing in fossil fuel companies.

CEO pay has been going in one direction for the past three years: up. The head of a typical large public company made $9.7 million in 2012, a 6.5 percent increase from a year earlier that was aided by a rising stock market, according to an analysis by The Associated Press using data from Equilar, an executive pay research firm.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve took financial markets for a ride Wednesday, pushing stock prices up in the morning then sending them down in the afternoon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal panel of medical experts said that an experimental insomnia drug from Merck & Co. Inc. appears safe and effective, despite evidence from company trials that the pill can cause daytime sleepiness and difficulty driving.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's nominee for transportation secretary — Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx — received a friendly reception from senators of both parties Wednesday laced with warnings that the nation needs to make a host of transportation improvements with no clear way to pay for them.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is torn over when to slow its aggressive efforts to stimulate the economy. Its uncertainty burst into view Wednesday, when Chairman Ben Bernanke testified to Congress in the morning and the Fed in the afternoon released the minutes of its last policy meeting.