BUSINESS

Samsung is the number one brand among Asian consumers, according to the Campaign Asia-Pacific 2012 Asia's Top 1000 Brands report.

Oil prices remained near $87 a barrel during Asian trading hours Thursday as investors were awaiting the key monetary decisions from the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has raised the credit rating of the Philippines, citing that the country's fiscal flexibility is gradually increasing and the debt profile is improving.

Asian markets fell Thursday with the revival of investor concerns about the euro zone?s debt crisis intensifying and the economic downturn deepening.

France's new Socialist government announced tax rises worth 7.2 billion euros on Wednesday, including heavy one-off levies on wealthy households and big corporations, to plug a revenue shortfall this year caused by flagging economic growth.

Guessing the names of next-gen gaming consoles is always fun. Fans really thought the Gamecube would be called the Nintendo 128 (since it followed up the Nintendo 64), and using that same logic, gamers still think Microsoft will name its Xbox 360 sequel the Xbox 720. It's all been conjecture, until now. Among a list of domain names seized in a legal battle, the name Xbox 8 sticks out like a sore thumb.

U.S. mortgage interest rates for 30-year, fixed loans are at/near 40-year lows. Further, while there's nothing like owning a home, for several reasons 'this is not your father's housing market.' There are pitfalls and pratfalls, and prospective buyers would be wise to review these five tips before taking the plunge.

Nintendo unveiled a slew of new features for its upcoming Wii U at E3 2012 in early June. But these new perks may come with an additional price.

Tom Cruise has been having some kind of rollercoaster week. After the shocking news of his divorce with wife Katie Holmes -- just before his birthday, no less -- Paramount Pictures chose to release a new trailer for Cruise's new action film entitled Jack Reacher on the actor's 50th birthday. The trailer is currenly available on Yahoo Trailers, and it is also embedded at the bottom of this page.

The European Parliament rejected Wednesday the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, an international treaty that aims to standardize intellectual property and copyright enforcement efforts digitally and physically across signatory countries.

Apple introduced some incredible new products and software at this year's WWDC -- the new Retina-powered MacBook Pro and iOS 6 were particular show-stealers -- but pro users felt specifically neglected at the event, where many were expecting Apple to refresh its entire Mac line-up. Unfortunately, despite a few spec bumps, the iMac and Mac Pro were largely untouched.

The Indian division of the U.S.-based Citibank Tuesday reported a 35 percent rise in its net profit in 2011-2012 fiscal year, driven by robust growth in their corporate and retail banking and mortgage businesses, the bank said in a statement.

Asian stock markets mostly advanced Wednesday on hopes that major central banks around the world would act to tackle the deteriorating global economic conditions.

Indian stock markets were trading slightly lower Wednesday as declines from oil & gas and IT sector shares outweighed the gains in metal and realty sectors.

European markets fell Wednesday, but investors continued to expect that the central banks would coordinate to announce stimulus measures to regain the growth momentum.

India's service sector continued its growth in June, though at a slightly slower rate than in May, according to the latest HSBC PMI data released Wednesday.

Crude oil futures declined during Asian trading hours Wednesday after surging in the previous session on renewed tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

Though China's services activity grew in June, it declined to a ten-month low, according to the HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) released Wednesday.

Sprint made the Galaxy S3 available for in-store purchases from July 1, while AT&T announced that it would be selling the phone in its stores from July 6. Following suit, Verizon Wireless on Tuesday announced that it would launch its version of the highly anticipated smartphone on July 10.

Asian markets rose Wednesday as investors continued to be hopeful that central banks all over the world would soon announce stimulus measures to tackle the weakening global economy.

Two of real estate's biggest landlords are gearing up for more acquisitions in moves that could help stabilize local housing markets.

The zombie madness continues as ?Resident Evil 6? got an Xbox 360 exclusive demo on July 3. Capcom?s next installment in the survival horror franchise will officially debut on Nov. 6, but ?Dragon?s Dogma? owners got a preview of Leon, Chris and Jake as they battle with the virally infected legions.

For those who can?t wait until the fall for their ?Assassin?s Creed 3? fix, tomorrow marks an important day for new protagonist Connor and the rest of his colonial and Native American characters. On July 4, Ubisoft will reveal more footage from the highly-anticipated game.

U.S. car sales revved up again in June after lackluster May sales numbers as consumers continued to flock to dealer lots to replace aging vehicles and buy new trucks and crossover SUVs.

Bankrupt Eastman Kodak (Pink: EKDKQ), the imaging giant, got its biggest boost in months after the judge overseeing its case approved the sale of as many as 1,100 patents.

According to a polling agency, 6.5 percent of the French voting public is gay, and only 4.5 percent of the electorate are practicing Catholics.

Subaru, the automotive manufacturing arm of Japanese industrial company Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (Tokyo: 7270), reported June U.S. car sales rose 40 percent over the year before.

CEO Robert Diamond's ouster from Barclays (NYSE: BCS) raises questions about whether Wall Street's doyen, Jame Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), might be next to go, especially as his bank's problems mount.

Research In Motion is in trouble. The BlackBerry maker has been suffering from an identity crisis for the last six months, which has resulted in mass layoffs, lots of job shuffling, dramatic drop-offs in market share and a quickly decaying portfolio for investors. But not according to newly-appointed CEO Thorsten Heins; in his eyes, RIM is all roses and rainbows and puppy kisses right now!