New York  - US stocks edged lower Monday for the first decline in four days, after a key economic gauge declined and oil prices rose.

The private Conference Board's leading economic index dropped 0.1 per cent in June. Crude oil prices gained more than 2 dollars to close above 131 dollars per barrel in New York, after hitting a six- week low last week.

Health company shares dropped after a popular cholesterol drug sold by Merck & Co and Schering-Plough Corp was linked to cancer by new research.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed Monday the agreement between Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to hold talks on sharing power and ending the political crisis in that country.

"The secretary general encourages all sides to engage, in good faith, in serious talks that would lead to a lasting solution to the political crisis and address the urgent economic and humanitarian needs of the Zimbabwean people," UN spokeswoman Michelle Montas said.

New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday welcomed an assessment for future international humanitarian assistance to Myanmar following the devastation by cyclone Nargis in May.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) presented the assessment for medium-term recovery needs in Myanmar at a meeting in in Singapore on Monday, attended by John Holmes, the chief UN humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

New York - US manufacturer Honeywell sa