By DAVID COTTLE There are plenty of eminent economists in the U.K., but none appeared to have made it on to the guest list for Friday’s royal nuptials at Westminster Abbey. Quite right, you might think. Who needs acolytes of the dismal science bringing the mood down on such a happy occasion? The more cynical [...]

By GUY CHAZAN LONDON—BP PLC said it expects to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico by the second half of 2011, little more than a year after a rig it had leased there exploded, killing 11 workers and triggering a catastrophic oil spill. Company officials spoke as BP reported results that showed the repercussions [...]

The world's largest maker of heavy equipment, Caterpillar, has its increased its profits five-fold thanks to an increase in global demand for its products. In the first three months of the year the company generated $1,225m (£733m) up from $233m a year ago. Shares in the US firm closed 3% higher in New York. Caterpillar [...]

US President Barack Obama has signed an order imposing sanctions on three top Syrian officials, Syria's intelligence agency and Iran's Revolutionary Guard. In Deraa, dozens of people are reported to have been shot dead in recent days. US officials said the sanctions were intended to send a message to the Syrian people that those responsible [...]

A US appeals court has overturned an earlier order to suspend federal funding of stem cell research. The Washington court said opponents of the research, who say it is illegal because it involves the destruction of human embryos, were unlikely to succeed in their lawsuit to stop the funding. The ruling marks a significant victory [...]

A man survived a 200ft (61m) drop in the US state of Arizona after apparently driving his car off the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, authorities have said. The 21-year-old told park rangers he freed himself from the car after the accidental crash on Monday and climbed to the rim of the canyon to [...]

Recovering from a few days in Iceland. And now feeling like I don’t need to visit the moon … Jon, you’ve been a big supporter of Donald Young’s though the years, while never pulling any punches as to why he hasn’t broken through to the top tier of players — or the middle tier, for [...]

By CECILIE ROHWEDDER Prince William and Kate Middleton have been showing up for a few photo ops around London, in advance of the royal wedding. At least it looks like Will and Kate. WSJ’s Dipti Kapadia reports on royal look-alikes James Cooper and Emily Turner. LONDON—With a photo of Prince William as his guide, London [...]

The final mission of Nasa's Endeavour shuttle has been delayed by at least 72 hours because of a technical problem. "A disappointing day for Team Endeavour and the astronauts but as we always say in this business, 'we will not fly this machine until it's ready' and today it was not ready," explained shuttle launch [...]

The US president's birth certificate names him as "Barack Hussein Obama, II". Why does he qualify for the Roman numerals? Joe Bloggs II would typically be used when a son is named after a relative other than his father – his grandfather, for example. However, it is also used, sometimes, as an alternative to Joe [...]