CHINA

Prudential , Britain's largest insurer, is in advanced talks to buy the Asian arm of American International Group in a deal worth about $35.5 billion, sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

Toyota Motor Corp said its president would hold a news conference in Beijing on Monday as the automaker looks to limit the damage from a massive global recall on the fast-growing Chinese market.

Toyota Motor Corp's president will hold a news conference in Beijing on Monday to explain its recent recalls, Kyodo news agency reported, citing an announcement by the automaker's local unit.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday she was encouraged by signs that North Korea may be getting ready to return to stalled talks on its nuclear program.

General Motors has approached previous bidders for its Hummer unit after a deal to sell the brand to an obscure Chinese firm collapsed.

Tata Motors, India's top vehicle maker, reported a rise in sales and margins at its Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) unit as luxury buyers returned after the global crisis, helping send its shares up more than 6 percent.

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank will raise about 40 billion yuan ($5.9 billion) by selling a roughly 20 percent strategic stake to China Mobile.

General Electric Co has seen interest from several banks to buy its stake in Garanti Bank but tough new rules for bank minority stakes might dampen appetite.

Alexei Grishin of Belarus defied low expectations and a rival's high difficulty jump as he twisted through the air in the men's aerials on Thursday to win his country's first ever Winter Olympics gold.

General Motors Co is considering two offers for its Hummer brand after plans to sell it to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery failed

Steve Jobs defended Apple Inc's decision to maintain a $40 billion cash pile and said it was better to save the money for bold risks, like acquisitions, than to spend it on stock buybacks or cash dividends.

Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs said his company has to think big and its $40 billion cash hoard offers flexibility, suggesting that he had no immediate plans to spend the money on a share buyback or dividend.

A group of 15 U.S. senators on Thursday insisted that China's currency practices are effectively a subsidy, and urged Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to take action. There can be no doubt that China's policy of large-sale intervention in the exchange markets and the significant undervaluation of its currency acts as a subsidy to Chinese exports, the senators said in a letter.

Australia's Lydia Lassila soared through the air on a mountain covered in thick fog and cleanly landed two of the hardest jumps of the day to win Olympic gold in the women's freestyle aerials on Wednesday.

Joy turned to despair for South Korea on Wednesday when their victory lap was cut short by news of their disqualification gifting China the Olympic gold in the women's short track 3,000 meters relay.

The Canadian men restored order in their Olympic ice hockey house and headed to the semi-finals after a 7-3 rout of Russia on Wednesday, a day of redemption and medal manna from heaven for the host nation.

Will India do it again? That is the question being asked by investors and bullion market analysts now. After India's surprise buying of 200 tonnes of IMF gold in November last year, now several news agency reports said that India is another potential candidate to buy more gold from the International Monetary Fund when it begins selling 191.3 tonnes of the precious metal.

It seems Australia's mining sector is witnessing the biggest ever boom in its history and almost all mining companies are going through this phase now. According to reports appeared in the Australian media, the country's economy is built on a vast land mass rich in mineral deposits. And the mining sector has experienced five big mining booms, and these have generated periodic surges of export-based wealth from local discoveries or global demand.

The parent company of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd said on Thursday it plans to buy Chinese special vehicle maker Zhejiang Zhongyu Automobile Co as it moves to expand its product portfolio.

North Korea threatened to attack South Korean and U.S. forces for scheduled joint military drills in March even as nuclear envoys picked up the pace of work to get stalled disarmament talks back on track.

China's military warned the United States on Thursday to speak and act cautiously to avoid reigniting tensions between the two powers, denying the People's Liberation Army played a part in Internet hacking.