(hpd/hu) Als der Papst vor dem Bundestag in Berlin predigte ... Anders Deutschland: kaum ein Drittel der Bevölkerung gehört der katholischen Kirche an - doch "Papa Ratzi" wird als Staatsgast empfangen. Was für einem Staat steht Ratzinger vor?

The Monetary Authority of Singapore on Tuesday released the following provisional bank lending data for June: June Year Earlier May Total S$452.57B S$374.32B S$444.98B Housing/Bridge S$139.69B S$121.34B S$137.71B Professionals & Private Individuals S$5.84B S$3.87B S$5.91B Building/Construction

Hong Kong stocks advanced Tuesday, on course for a fourth straight day of gains amid hopes for monetary stimulus from global central banks, with heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC rising after posting half-yearly results.

The total number of Australian houses and apartments approved for construction fell 2.5% to a seasonally adjusted 13,336 in June from May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

PT Gudang Garam (GGRM.JK), Indonesia's largest publicly listed cigarette maker by sales, posted Tuesday an 8.3% decline in first-half net profit as its cost of sales rose.

Taiwan's preliminary gross domestic product data released Tuesday showed the economy shrank 0.16% in the second quarter from a year earlier.

Cigarette maker PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna (HMSP.JK) said Tuesday its first-half net profit rose 29% to 4.88 trillion rupiah ($513 million) from IDR3.79 trillion a year earlier owing to higher sales.

The recent fall in metals prices could benefit Australia's farmers as banks dedicate more lending to the agriculture sector, the Deputy Chief Executive of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said Tuesday.

Brazilian mobile telecom operator TIM Participacoes (TIMP3.BR, TSU) posted net profit of 346.8 million Brazilian reais ($170 million) in the second quarter, down 0.9% from the same period a year ago, the company reported Monday.

Shares of Hitachi Ltd. rose in early Tuesday trading, a day after the Japanese tech and industrial conglomerate posted a more than doubling of its group net profit for the April-June quarter.

The U.S. will this week host a meeting of about 16 nations opposed to a controversial European Union carbon tax on airlines, aiming to draw up an alternative plan, a U.S. official said Monday.