Irish low cost airline Ryanair Holdings Plc reported 13 percent increase in profit for fiscal 2013, including mainly 6 percent increase in average fares and strong ancillary revenues. Meanwhile, fuel costs, which represented 45 percent of total costs, grew 18 percent from last year. Due to lower yields and higher fuel costs, the company expects first-quarter net profit to be lower than last year.

The Japanese government on Monday upgraded its assessment of the economy for the first time in two months, as a weak yen helped revive the country's exports and factory output. "The Japanese economy is picking up slowly," the Cabinet Office said in its May monthly report. This was an upgrade from previous month's assessment when it said that economy was showing signs of picking up.

Moving quickly to try to address the scandal over the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups, President Barack Obama announced Thursday that he has appointed Daniel Werfel as the agency's new acting commissioner. Werfel, who currently serves as Controller of the Office of Management and Budget, replaces Steven Miller, who was asked to resign on Wednesday.

Asian stocks rose on Monday, extending a two-week rally, as an upbeat reading on U.S. consumer confidence bolstered optimism about the economic recovery in the world's largest economy. Adding to the positive sentiment, the Japanese government upgraded...