BUSINESS

A strict new policy limiting toilet time at a factory led to a hostage situation in Shanghai.

Dish Network announced that it will close an additional 300 Blockbuster stores.

Research In Motion, ArcelorMittal, 3D Systems Corp, Dell Inc, Deutsche Bank, BP Plc, Caterpillar, Boeing Co. and Ford Motor Co. are among the companies whose shares are moving in the pre-market trading Tuesday.

China’s Gini coefficient, an income inequality gauge, is lower than 10 years ago. Is China’s much talked-about income gap actually lessening?

Russia's defense industry is growing, thanks mostly to increasing sales in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The U.S. stock index futures signaled a lower open Tuesday ahead of the National Association of Realtors' home sales report.

Asian stock markets mostly advanced Tuesday after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised its inflation target and adopted an open-ended asset purchasing program at the end of its two-day policy meeting.

The Japanese yen fell Tuesday against the dollar after the Bank of Japan raised the inflation target to 2 percent from 1 percent.

Bank of Japan surprised markets by doubling its inflation target to 2 percent and adopting an open-ended commitment to buy assets.

Following Google CEO Eric Schmidt's visit to North Korea, several bloggers have revealed the DPRK's labor camps can be clearly seen from space.

Rahul Gandhi is the son of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and current Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi.

The BoJ will likely expand asset purchases and state a new inflation goal. Here's your handy watchlist for this week.

The acclaimed iPhone 5 and iPad 4, iPad Mini and iPods have sold well globally: Will revenue from those products produce record 1Q earnings?

China’s central bank has moved toward putting itself more in line with the U.S. Fed in how it manages banking-system liquidity.

Crude oil prices declined during the Asian trading hours Monday after surging to a four-month high last week.

Asian markets were listless Monday as investor confidence was weighed down amid the speculation that policy makers in Japan might disappoint by not announcing substantial stimulus measures in the meeting this week.

Rio Tinto Group, the mining giant that just admitted that it’s worth $14 billion less than previously stated, is at a crossroads.

With the help of loans by the European Union and International Monetary Fund, the Egyptian economy is attempting a comeback.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Friday were Xilinx Inc, Starz, Life Technologies Corporation and Trius Therapeutic Inc while the top after-market NASDAQ losers were magicJack VocalTec Ltd, Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Aviat Networks Inc, Avis Budget Group Inc and Power-One Inc.

Most of the Asian markets rose as investor confidence was lifted amid the encouraging economic indicators from the U.S. and China.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Friday were SeaCube Container Leasing, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, France Telecom, Harbinger Group and PBF Energy. The top after-market NYSE losers were Alpine Global Dynamic Dividend Fund, Corrections Corp, Air Lease, Caterpillar and Parker Drilling Co.

Economists continue to be at odds over the reliability of official Chinese data, but Baring Asset’s Khiem Do says they are "OK."

Al Gore may have just made close to $100 million from the sale of the Current TV network, but it appears the former U.S. vice president is not done pocketing the big bucks quite yet. Gore this week bought roughly $29 million worth of Apple Inc. stock for pennies on the dollar, making him even richer than ever.

Seattle coffee giant Starbucks is expected to report a 14 percent gain in earnings per share on an 11 percent sales increase.

The Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) department-store chain is recalling roughly 560,000 children’s pajama sets due to a flame hazard.

The agency that grounded Boeing's 787 Dreamliner as it investigates battery malfunctions does not know when it will allow the plane to fly again.

Quantitative easing’s long-term dollar impact has not been determined. That said, to cite Twain, reports of the dollar’s death are greatly exaggerated.

Strong demand for oil and gas equipment lifted GE's fourth-quarter sales and profit above analyst expectations.

NuPathe, Life Technologies, Research In Motion, Rio Tinto, Carnival Corp, Intel Corp, Finisar Corp, Cliffs Natural Resources and AT&T Inc. are among the companies whose shares are moving in the pre-market trading Friday.