CHINA

A Chinese government study has found the European Union offered large subsidies to telecom firms in what Beijing might deem a violation of World Trade Organization rules, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Soaring oil prices will have little impact on Chinese consumer inflation, but will place considerable cost pressure on the country's manufacturers, a government adviser and ministry official said on Thursday.

Taiwan and China will hold another round of talks in late March on a plan to allow individual travellers from China to visit Taiwan, a move that many see as a huge lift for Taiwan's economy.

He Shuaixing shakes his head listening to the pitch from a job recruiter on a cold wet day in a factory district outside Shenzhen , epicentre of China's export machine.

Biogen Idec stock price can appreciate to the mid $70s based on five areas of potential upside, according to RBC Capital Markets. The brokerage upgraded its rating on shares of the biotechnology company to outperform from sector perform and increased its price target to $75 from $60.

Access to LinkedIn, a social networking site aiming for a $175 million initial public offering, was disrupted in China on Thursday, according to several Internet users.

Gold steadied near seven-week highs on Thursday, as investor fears over inflation stemming from the spike in crude oil were partially offset by pockets of profit-taking after the market's 6 percent rise this month.

Western investment banks are keen to underwrite more IPOs on China's Shenzhen exchange this year as a surging economy turns the once insignificant market into a fundraising hotbed.

A former Chinese central bank adviser and influential economist on Thursday called on East Asian economies to form a stronger alliance to deal with issues such as the United States' weak fiscal position.

China will add more than 45 airports over the next five years, bringing the total to more than 220, the country's aviation regulator said on Thursday.

Hong Kong stocks are expected to open lower on Thursday, pressured by a surge in oil prices on fears turmoil in Libya could spread to other oil exporters in the region, and declines in global markets.

There is now more evidence that speculators are pushing up the prices of food commodities.

In urban China, poor people (and there are many of them) still have tough, despite the country’s stellar headline economic growth.

Merger and acquisitions activity in the global mining sector is expected to accelerate in 2011, fueled by strong commodity prices and repaired balance sheets, advisory and accountancy firm Ernst & Young said on Wednesday.

Inflation did not immediately follow because of the severity of the economic recession. However, as some economists correctly predicted, it was only a matter of time. In Europe, it's starting to heat up.

The two most powerful members of the European Union (EU), France and Germany, have threatened to strike Libya with sanctions in response to Moammar Gaddafi’s brutal crackdown on protesters. Such sanctions would eventually lead to the cancellation of all economic and business ties between Libya and the EU.

China may not have been first to a launch social networking site, but it might be first to float one. Renren.com is eyeing an initial public offering in New York. Owner Oak Pacific is thought to want a valuation of $500 million. The potential for new internet darlings is huge, if they can avoid some old-school problems.

China will breed its own high-yield seeds and set up large seed companies to help ensure the country's food security in coming decades.

Mutual fund giant Fidelity is actively preparing to enter China by securing a trust company licence in one of the world's fastest-growing asset management market, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

Technology services provider Digital China Holdings Ltd is bidding for the rights to sell Apple Inc's iPad and Research in Motion Ltd's tablet PC in China, its chief executive said.

In the muggy forest of central Liberia, a gang of workers is inching its way along a railway track, cut long and straight through an otherwise impenetrable mesh of trees and vines. The drone of insects is interrupted by a high-pitched drill and the clang of hammers as workers put the finishing touches to the perfectly aligned steel tracks.