CHINA

Websites run by Chinese human rights activists were hit by cyber-attacks over the weekend, highlighting increasing sophistication of efforts to censor dissident voices in China.

Oil prices steadied below $75 a barrel on Monday, after slipping toward a one-month low on continued market unease over possible tighter Chinese monetary policy and a U.S. proposal to toughen bank trading rules.

Oil prices fell on Monday, approaching one-month lows near $74 a barrel, on continued market unease over possible tighter Chinese monetary policy and a U.S. proposal to toughen bank trading rules.

Stock index futures pointed to a rebound on Wall Street on Monday following last week's sharp sell-off, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.82 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.74 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.51 percent at 4:15 a.m. EST.

Oil prices fell on Monday, approaching one-month lows near $74 a barrel, on continued market unease over possible tighter monetary policy in China and a U.S. proposal to tighten bank trading rules.

Cisco Systems' chief executive said on Monday he expected the spat between Google Inc. and China to be resolved, saying the issue was part of a natural give and take.

The yen and the U.S. dollar dipped on Monday while the euro and high-yielding currencies advanced, lifted by reports that Ben Bernanke was moving closer towards being confirmed for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Markets have been fretting since late last week over whether Bernanke would be approved for the job. [nN24141266]

China's gross domestic product growth is likely to grow about 9.5 percent in 2010, largely driven by strong domestic consumption and corporate investment, a government researcher said in remarks published on Monday.

China has every right to punish citizens using the Internet to challenge Communist Party power and ethnic policies, a senior official said Monday, pressing Beijing's counter-offensive against Google Inc.

Japanese manufacturers' confidence has recovered to its highest level since the global financial crisis hit, but remains weak overall due to concerns about deflation and sluggish domestic demand, a Reuters poll showed.

One can't think of futurology without mentioning George Orwell (1984 fame) or Alvin Toffler (Third Wave). Whenever, one comes across Futuristic predictions we get reminded of Toffler or Orwell.I was reminded of them when I read the latest provocative forecasts of the Futurist Magazine.

China could overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy in 2010, one year before Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jim O'Neill had previously expected.

China's Communist Party mouthpiece on Sunday accused the United States of mounting a cyber army and a hacker brigade, and of exploiting social media like Twitter or Youtube to foment unrest in Iran.

President Barack Obama called on the U.S. Congress on Saturday to create a bipartisan panel that would look at ways to rein in the country's soaring deficits.

General Motors expects it will need to build a new greenfield manufacturing facility in the near future in China to accommodate strong growth in the world's largest auto market, but it will not be building a plant this year, its China president said on Saturday.

The head of the U.N.'s panel of climate scientists promised on Saturday to tighten research procedures but dismissed talk he should resign over an erroneous projection that Himalayan glaciers would disappear by 2035.

More than 2,000 ethnic Karen people have fled their villages in eastern Myanmar after deadly attacks by government troops in the past week, a humanitarian group said Saturday.

China needs no lessons about its Internet from the United States, the head of an online media association said through official media on Saturday after the United States rapped Beijing over information freedom.

¨Gold prices will continue to witness an uptrend in 2010 but investors should expect continued high volatility-resembling an amusement park roller coaster ride, according to Jeffrey Nichols, Senior Economic Advisor to Rosland Capital. In his latest commentary on market trends, Jeffrey Nichols said that gold prices won't move up higher without interruption.The two main sources of gold price volatility will continue to be the investment demand for the yellow metal and volatility in dollar's exchan...

China hit back at U.S. criticism of Internet censorship and hacking on Friday, warning that relations between the two global heavyweights were being hurt by a feud centered on web giant Google.

A security research firm said it discovered another set of vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, a day after Microsoft Corp patched the Web browser following a high-profile cyber attack on Google in China.