CHINA

International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Thursday the Chinese yuan should be given a greater role within a restructured international monetary system.

International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Thursday the Chinese yuan should be given a greater role within a restructured international monetary system.

Daily deals website Groupon said on Thursday that Starbucks Corp Chief Executive Howard Schultz had joined its board of directors and that his venture capital firm had taken a stake in the company.

Hong Kong's securities regulator is seeking to freeze the assets of the chief executive officer of China Forestry Holdings Co Ltd , which is being investigated for accounting irregularities, a court document showed.

PetroChina (0857.HK)(PTR.N) agreed to pay C$5.4 billion ($5.4 billion) for half of Encana's Cutbank Ridge shale gas project, marking the largest Chinese investment in a foreign gas asset.

A group of prominent business executives and national security figures will visit China next month as part of their drive to reduce U.S. dependence on oil.

The arrest of a Taiwanese general accused of spying for China is a warning to Taiwan to be wary of its old foe despite warming economic links that are likely to stay unscathed by the case.

Snow across some drought-hit parts of north and central China brought limited respite from a drought threatening winter wheat crops that has fueled talk of higher global prices, state forecasters said Thursday.

The Treasury will remain intensely focused on correcting China's substantially undervalued yuan despite a decision not to name Beijing a currency manipulator, a senior Treasury official said on Thursday.

A bipartisan group of 101 lawmakers in the House of Representatives launched a new bid on Thursday to pass legislation aimed at pressuring China to let its yuan currency rise in value.

A bill that seeks to punish China’s undervalued currency with import tariffs was introduced on Thursday by Senators Olympian Snowe (R-Maine) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

The U.S. Treasury will remain intensely focused on correcting China's substantially undervalued yuan despite a decision not to name Beijing a currency manipulator, a senior Treasury official said on Thursday.

Five new Republican faces for a possible run for the U.S. presidency in 2012 are in this year's straw poll of thousands of conservative activists who have made their annual trek to Washington this week.

Strengthening cybersecurity is the goal of legislation being introduced in Congress after reports of hack attacks on computer networks at Nasdaq OMX Group and at oil and gas companies.

World stock markets fell hard on Thursday, with Hong Kong shares losing 2% and London's FTSE100 dropping 0.9% by lunchtime. Indian stock markets have lost more than $20 million per minute so far in 2011, the Economic Times reports, with billionaire Anil Ambani blaming vicious and illegal rumors.

North and South Korea traded blame Thursday for the breakdown of military talks as a stalemate emerged over the starting point for negotiations.

India and Pakistan said on Thursday they would resume formal peace talks but issues such as militancy and the disputed Kashmir region are likely to slow any progress towards defusing tensions.

Rio Tinto's smaller than expected $5 billion share buyback and caution over the sustainability of a commodity boom overshadowed record profits from the mining giant.

Analysts have estimated that China’s consumer price index (CPI) went past 5 percent in January on annual basis, Securities Daily reported on Thursday.

Gold eased below $1,360 an ounce in Europe on Thursday as the rising dollar pressured prices, and with Asian buying still light after the Lunar New Year holidays.

A new Thai airline is hiring transsexual ladyboys as flight attendants, aiming at a unique identity to set itself apart from competitors as it sets out for the skies. Known as katoeys or ladyboys, transgenders and transsexuals have greater visibility in Thailand than in many other nations, holding mainstream jobs in a variety of fields.