CHINA

Fear the United States will lose its AAA credit rating or even default on its debt is driving foreigners away from U.S. assets, and the dollar is taking the biggest hit.

Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, reported a higher quarterly profit that missed Wall Street estimates as its international refining business and output fell short.

A tropical storm moving through the Philippines on Wednesday has killed 27 people and left more than 60 injured or missing, according to a government disaster response agency.

The rising super swimmer of the U.S. did it again. Ryan Lochte once again overpowered 14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps in the World Swimming Championship in Shanghai on Thursday.

The crash was due to a "signal failure," according to Chinese officials.

The personal information of 35-million South Koreans were compromised by a massive hacking that is being blamed on the Chinese.

Barbadian singer Rihanna has been named 'Woman of the Year' by Italian Vogue.

Asia's small, export-driven economies look most vulnerable to the threat of a deeper U.S. economic slump, which could materialize even if Washington manages to avert a debt default.

South Korea' communications regulator said Thursday hackers from China had attacked an Internet portal and blogging site operated by SK Comms, accessing the personal information of up to 35 million users in what could be the country's biggest cyber attack so far.

Archaeopteryx, the legendary winged creature long known as the oldest and most primitive bird on Earth, may not have been a bird at all, Chinese scientists reveal.

Swish bank UBS said on Thursday it has set up an asset management unit in Beijing to tap China's rapidly-growing $650 billion private equity market.

China will press ahead with diversification of its $3.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, and does not pursue large-scale currency holdings, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Thursday.

Hyundai Motor posted a 37 percent gain in quarterly net profit on Thursday, outstripping the consensus forecast, after it logged record global vehicle sales and gained market share from Japanese rivals reeling from the March 11 earthquake.

Ford Motor Co said on Thursday said it plans to invest $1 billion to build a factory in western India, doubling its investment in the country as the U.S. carmaker seeks to gain a greater share in the second-fastest growing auto market in the world.

Japan's biggest consumer electronics makers are expected to show quarterly earnings slumped due to the March earthquake, but investors will focus on whether these companies can meet their forecasts for a swift recovery, given a fragile global economy.

The source of the auto industry's growth has seen a permanent shift to emerging markets that appear promising but also hold great risks, according to an AlixPartners study released on Wednesday.

Anders Breivik butchered scores of innocent people because he wanted to draw Europe's attention to the feared 'Islamization' of the region. The mindless brutality of his killing spree shocked the world, but he has earned some fans thanks to the inhuman deed. The following are some ultra-fundamentalist positions of Breivik, taken from a 1500-page manifesto, which he released hours before the attack, titled '2083, A European Declaration of Independence.'

It is understandable that foreign investors have been losing confidence with the U.S.?s ability to deal with its debt issue

For more than three years, U.S. securities regulators investigated allegations of accounting fraud at a small telecom firm called China Voice Holding Corp, but could not make a case.

Panasonic Corp <6752.T> has decided to sell its unit's washing machine and refrigerator operations in Japan and Southeast Asia to Chinese firm Haier Group Co <1169.HK> for about 10 billion yen ($128.3 million), Japan's Nikkei business daily reported.

China is building two aircraft carriers as part of a military modernization program that is causing concern among other Asian countries, sources said on Wednesday.