NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. officials will continue to press China over the manipulation of its currency at this week’s G-20 summit, a senior Treasury Department official said Tuesday.

The two-day summit of central bank governors and finance ministers, held in Paris, will take place against the background of a recovering world economy.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — China has accused Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, and its French competitor Carrefour of price gouging and misleading consumers by advertising false discounts on goods sold in their stores.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Chinese agency that coordinates economic and social development, made those charges in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — If you owed somebody a lot of money, let’s say for the sake of argument nearly $900 billion, you probably wouldn’t want to make this creditor angry, right?

Tell that to President Obama, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and several members of Congress.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Senate Democrats renewed their push to crack down on countries that manipulate their currencies, ahead of a key meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington.

A bill introduced Monday by Senator Charles Schumer and two other Democrats, would impose penalties, including possible tariffs, on nations that manipulate their currencies — particularly China.

The Senators told reporters in a conference call that China’s currency and trade polices undercut U.S. manufacturers and are costing American jobs.

SEATTLE – Microsoft says it will investigate reports of poor working conditions at a factory in southern China that makes some of its products.

A nonprofit that looks into the treatment of foreign workers by U.S. companies published a report Tuesday detailing long working hours, low pay, insufficient food and few freedoms for workers at the KYE Systems Corp. factory in Dongguan, China.

(Msnbc.com is a joint-venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

James Tsai is the sort of MBA corporate recruiters covet. He went to a good prep school, earned a degree with honors from Middlebury College, and made vice-president in Bank of America’s international wealth management group at the age of 26. Today, Tsai is about to graduate, straight A’s in hand, from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, a top-rated program in America. And he’s hustling to land his first post-MBA job — in China.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Don’t look for Iran to throw up the white flag anytime soon.

The Obama administration is scrambling to tighten trade sanctions against Iran after the disclosure last week that Tehran was hiding a heavily fortified facility that many believe is designed to make material for nuclear weapons.

But the kind of sanctions that would really hit Iran’s economy – sanctions against its energy industry – are thought to be off the table because China and other nations are too reliant on Iran’s oil.

“They look to Iran as a major source of future oil supplies,” said James Placke, a senior associate at Cambridge Energy Research Associates who specializes in the Middle East. “They’d have to go through a substantial policy reversal, and I’d be surprised if they did that.”

SHANGHAI – General Motors said on Sunday it has agreed to set up a light commercial vehicle production venture with major Chinese automaker FAW Group, with total investment of $293 million.

The 50-50 joint venture, based in the northeast China city of Changchun in Jilin province, will make light-duty trucks and vans, GM said in a statement.

“For us in China, this is an important complement to the rest of our portfolio,” Kevin Wale, president and managing director for GM’s China operations, told reporters in a conference call.

HONG KONG – Asian markets gained more ground Monday as Japan’s new $150 billion stimulus plan and upbeat news about Chinese bank lending boosted hopes for recovery in the region’s major economies.

Trade was thinner than normal with many investors still away for a public holiday and several markets closed. A stronger dollar combined with Tokyo’s latest measures helped exporters like Mazda and Nissan. Oil prices slipped to near $51 a barrel.