AUSTRALIA

Asian stock markets tumbled on Monday with financial shares such as Macquarie Bank hit by global credit jitters, while fresh concerns about the health of the U.S. economy knocked the dollar lower.

Australian health services provider Symbion Health Ltd. said on Monday it expected a 16 percent increase in full-year profit, adding that an independent expert had backed a proposed A$2.9 billion ($2.5 billion) takeover by smaller rival Healthscope Ltd.

Private equity firm CVC said on Sunday that Hong Kong financier Francis Leung has joined the company as senior adviser focusing on developing investment opportunities in Greater China.

A painting long thought to be the work of Dutch master Vincent van Gogh has been proven a fake after a series of tests by art experts in Amsterdam, Australian gallery officials said on Friday.

Stocks fell and currency markets churned on worries about worsening credit markets and a move away from risky investments.

The world's electricity must be generated from zero or near zero-emission power plants by 2050 if a 50 percent cut in global greenhouse gas emissions is to be achieved by mid-century, Australia's Environment Minister said on Wednesday.

British Airways revealed the biggest fine in its history on Wednesday as it reached settlements with the U.S. and UK authorities for price fixing that could cost it up to 350 million pounds ($711 million).

Asian shares slid on Monday after U.S. stocks suffered a second day of heavy losses on worries that companies were facing tighter credit conditions, while uncertainty in global equity markets drove up the yen. Worries that problems in the housing market could spill over into other parts of the U.S. economy -- Asia's main export market -- and that tighter credit would cause takeover activity to slow, saw the S&P 500 index suffer its worst week in nearly five years.

The economic challenges of climate change will top the agenda when finance ministers of APEC's 21-members meet in the Queensland coastal resort of Coolum next week.

Coca-Cola Co. has agreed to take part in LG Household & Health Care's acquisition of the South Korean bottling arm of Australia's Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd., a source familiar with the deal said on Wednesday.

The dollar fell to another record low against the euro on Monday, hit by fresh fears of a global spill-over from the U.S. mortgage market crisis that buoyed safe-haven bonds and forced Asian stocks into a retreat.

The seventh and final Harry Potter book flew off the shelves on Saturday as fans the world over snapped up copies to discover the fate of the boy wizard and his Hogwarts pals.

The seventh and final Harry Potter book flew off the shelves on Saturday as fans the world over poured into stores or waited for the first post to discover the fate of the boy wizard.

The seventh and final Harry Potter book goes on sale at midnight, a publishing milestone that will end months of fevered speculation among fans over the fate of the fictional boy wizard and his wand-wielding friends.

Le Parisien has revealed the fates of four of the main protagonists in the final book.

M2 Telecommunications Group Ltd. announced on Thursday that it has been chosen by sales intermediary Capricorn Society Ltd. to provide a full suite of telecommunications services the latter’s 10,000 member companies.

Set the dining table, light some candles and crack open a nice bag of wine.

Industrial metal lead extended its recent hot streak on Monday, hitting another high, while steel additive nickel was hit by reports of lower use, fund managers and analysts said.

Some 120,000 barrels a day of new high-quality, low-sulphur oil will start flowing from Asian fields this quarter, putting strong regional crude differentials under some pressure and boosting light product yields.

Asian shares mostly eased on Monday with South Korea retreating from record highs on fears the government may move to cool the market, while Brent crude was about $1 away from its highest level due to supply worries.

The dollar weakened against major currencies on Monday, plumbing fresh multi-year depths against higher-yielding units as bearish sentiment toward the greenback and the outlook for U.S. interest rates gripped markets.