CHINA

Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent set an adjusted operating target of 5 percent of 2011 sales, the lower end of what it had previously told investors it would achieve.

Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc's CEO John Chambers spooked investors for the third time in as many quarters, warning of dwindling public spending and weaker margins from tough competition.

France's Alcatel-Lucent will on Thursday lay out its targets for 2011, with investors keen to see whether CEO Ben Verwaayen delivers on a long-awaited turnaround of the struggling telecoms gear maker.

Federal Reserve chairman said the risk of inflation was “quite low” and that higher prices in emerging markets were unlikely to spill over into the U.S.

The following are highlights from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony on the economy to the House Budget Committee on Wednesday.

Military talks between the rival Koreas have collapsed, a unification ministry official in Seoul said on Wednesday, dealing a setback to efforts to restart international aid-for-disarmament talks.

China, Japan and South Korea are dominating growth in international patent filings in a dramatic demonstration of the shift of scientific and economic power to northeast Asia, figures released on Wednesday showed.

After spooking the market for two quarters with cautious forecasts, Cisco Systems Inc must do more than meet or modestly beat analysts' forecasts to win back investor confidence.

Stronger economic growth in the United States will eventually lead to rising inflation this year as increased consumer and business spending drive the recovery, according to a Reuters poll of economists released on Wednesday.

China Vanke, the country largest developer by sales, said on Wednesday property sales jumped 221 percent in January from a year ago to 20.1 billion yuan ($3.07 billion).

Dozens of Chinese climbing enthusiasts scaled huge, frozen waterfalls in rural Beijing, taking part in a competition showcasing the rapid rise in popularity of outdoor sports.

China on Wednesday increased the cost for people borrowing from a fund designed to support first-time home buyers, in line with the country's latest rise in benchmark interest rates.

U.S. stocks opened modestly lower on Wednesday as investors await comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the economic outlook and monetary policy.

Gold rose back towards yesterday's 3-week peaks in London on Wednesday, pushing higher against all major currencies as world stock markets slipped.

Though the official version, and most of the media, paints a rosy picture, the reality on the ground is vastly different, with people finding it ever harder to find jobs, according to many observers. Some even say the BLS unemployment figures are an eyewash.

Gold held close to the previous session's near three-week high in Europe on Wednesday, supported by an increased focus on inflation after China's second interest rate hike in six weeks.

Nissan Motor Co's <7201.T> quarterly profit fell 15 percent on a stronger yen and sliding Japanese demand, but the decline was the slimmest among local automakers and it lifted its outlook on growing overseas sales.

China's central bank is poised to raise benchmark interest rates twice more in the first half of 2011 for a total tightening of 50 basis points, before keeping them steady for the remainder of the year, a Reuters poll on Wednesday showed.

Nissan Motor Co's <7201.T> quarterly profit fell 15 percent on a stronger yen and sliding Japanese sales, but the decline was the slimmest among local automakers as a slew of new models helped Nissan beat the sector's growth in key markets.

World stocks fell from this week's 29-month high on Wednesday as China's interest rate rise prompted investors to book profits, while general optimism over global growth sent 10-year U.S. bond yields to nine-month highs.

Social networking site Facebook on Tuesday opened shop in Hong Kong to expand its presence in Asia notwithstanding its ban in mainland China.