CHINA

Fake security software was the No. 1 cybersecurity woe afflicting computer users in 2009, and Apple users lost some of their immunity to cybercrime as they stored more data online instead of on hard drives, according to the cybersecurity firm Symantec.

International markets like China and Brazil drove profits at U.S. industrial companies in the first quarter, many of which beat Wall Street estimates and raised their full-year forecasts.

A December cyberattack on Google Inc computers hit the company's password system that millions of people worldwide use to access almost all of the company's Web services, The New York Times said, citing a person with direct knowledge of the investigation.

Brewing giant SABMiller beat forecasts as it reported a 2 percent rise in fourth-quarter worldwide underlying beer volumes on Tuesday as emerging markets like Latin America and Africa started to recover.

Asian stocks rebounded on Tuesday, a day after suffering their biggest percentage fall in 10 weeks, as Citigroup's best results since 2007 raised investor optimism about earnings growth.

Quarterly earnings at Asian carmakers are set for a big improvement thanks to recovering demand and cost cuts, and analysts are turning their focus to how fast they can get back to sustained, pre-crisis growth.

Asian chipmakers are set to deliver another set of strong results and cement growing views that the global technology sector's recovery is accelerating as an economic recovery boosts corporate and consumer spending.

Asian stocks rebounded on Tuesday, a day after suffering their biggest percentage fall in 10 weeks, as Citigroup's best results since 2007 raised investor optimism about corporate earnings and risk aversion receded.

The U.S. Commerce Department could decide this week whether to launch a groundbreaking investigation into charges China is subsidizing exports of an aluminum product by undervaluing its currency, a government official said on Monday.

For U.S. industrial companies, this quarter's earnings season could bring the first concrete evidence an awaited economic recovery has arrived.

The United States will take action if China does not begin to take steps in the coming months to raise the value of its currency, a top lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives warned on Monday.

Lenovo Group, the world's No.4 PC brand, said mobile Internet products will account for 10-20 percent of revenue in five years, as it embarks on a new drive into wireless computing.

U.S. stocks were set to open lower on Monday as lingering concerns over fraud charges against Goldman Sachs weighed on investor sentiment.

U.S. miner Peabody Energy's $3.8 billion bid for Macarthur Coal gained traction on Monday as one of two rival deals involving the Australian miner hit the skids.

Top Asian LCD makers are set to report upbeat quarterly results and may forecast robust demand as buoyant TV sales and new product launches such as Apple's iPad reinforce a recovery in the sector.

China might see increased foreign exchange inflows this year as expectations of yuan appreciation mount, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Monday.

Asian stocks suffered their biggest loss in 10 weeks on Monday after U.S. regulators filed fraud charges against Goldman Sachs and China clamped down harder on property speculation, giving investors an excuse to take profits after markets had rallied to multi-month highs.

The conditions are not ripe for China to unshackle the yuan from its 21-month-old peg to the dollar, a senior government economist said in comments published on Monday.

U.S. miner Peabody Energy faces an uphill battle to win support for its $3.8 billion bid for Macarthur Coal from the Australian miner's board and biggest shareholder.

Electrical goods retailer Best Buy plans to open up to 1,000 new mobile phone shops, the Financial Times reported in its Monday edition.

Global finance leaders face fractious talks this week on how to shift more voting power at the World Bank to emerging economic heavyweights such as China, a prelude to a bigger fight over the IMF.