Asian stocks rose for a 10th day, driving the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to its longest winning streak since 2004, on confidence a rebound in regional economies will boost earnings. Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third?largest mining company, added 3.3 percent in Sydney after nickel and aluminum prices advanced. Cash prices for iron ore delivered to China rose last week, according to Metal Bulletin. That placed spot ore 25 percent above the agreed benchmark contract price, according to analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd.

South Korean consumer confidence rose to the highest in almost seven years in July as government stimulus policies and record interest?rate cuts began leading the economy toward recovery from the global recession. The sentiment index rose to 109 from 106 in June, the Bank of Korea said in Seoul today.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank is “winding down” emergency measures aimed at curbing the financial crisis. Bernanke said he expects the U.S. economy to grow at an annual rate of 1 percent in the second half of 2009, while unemployment will exceed 10 percent before beginning to decline. At the same time, “we want to make sure that we don’t overstimulate the economy” and spur inflation, Bernanke said.

Analysts are raising U.S. earnings estimates for the first time since credit markets froze two years ago, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The dollar may be the focus of Chinese?U.S. talks starting in Washington today as China presses the Obama administration on how it will tame the fiscal deficit and protect the U.S. currency’s value.

Both nations are pumping cash into their economies to revive growth in the face of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Though Premier Wen Jiabao said in March he was worried about the safety of the nation’s U.S. assets, China bought $38 billion of U.S. notes and bonds in May, taking its holdings to $801.5 billion.

Indian bonds, Asia’s worst?performers in 2009, may keep tumbling through year?end as the central bank stops cutting interest rates and the government sells a record amount of debt, UBS AG said. The Reserve Bank of India, which meets tomorrow to review its monetary policy, will leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged and may signal in coming months that inflation is set to return by the end of 2009.