CHINA

Most of the time, when travelers are thinking about going to a foreign country in order to witness a particular festival celebration first-hand, they're thinking in terms of what festival will help them understand the culture better, or which ones have the most free-flowing alcohol. But if you're one of

Auto sales will gain momentum worldwide in 2010 on the back of better access to credit and a return to 3 percent growth in the global economy, setting the stage for record volumes in 2011, according the latest industry forecast from Scotia Economics.

China's Geely would barely lay a finger on Ford Motor Co's Volvo if it succeeds in acquiring the Swedish luxury car brand, the firm's top executive was quoted by state media as saying on Friday.

China's Big Four banks led by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SS)(1398.HK), now the world's largest bank by market value, hold a combined 50 percent share of the domestic lending market, mostly for big state-owned enterprises.

Sumitomo Chemical Corp agreed to buy a $590 million stake in Australian farm chemicals maker Nufarm Ltd on Tuesday, in a surprise deal that knocked out a rival bid from China's Sinochem.

CNR Corp, one of China's top two train makers, limped in with a lukewarm market debut after its $2 billion IPO in Shanghai, signaling investors' intolerance for high valuations as a flood of new equity awaits next year.

Strength in mining stocks helped Britain's top share index recover on Tuesday to levels not seen since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, though banks were weak.

India and Japan agreed on Tuesday to ease visa rules within a year to boost trade between two of Asia's biggest economies that are also trying to broaden cooperation in defence and nuclear energy.

North Korea said on Tuesday it had detained a U.S. citizen who entered its territory, apparently confirming a report that an American activist crossed into the state to raise awareness about Pyongyang's human rights abuses.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was appalled at China's execution of a Briton caught smuggling heroin on Tuesday, prompting China to denounce British accusations and defend its court system.

Iran is planning to enhance country's steel capacity by establishing new steel units by 2011. Eight new steel units are under construction and Iran is expected to produce at least 6.4 million tonnes of more steel by the end of 2011.

In October this year, Reserve bank of India triggered a new wave among central banks across the globe, resulting in huge purchases of gold by them. With India leading the way with a 200 tonne gold purchase from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), other banks also followed suit by purchasing the yellow metal in bulk.

China is a vital market for Microsoft's Web search business, as it chases leaders Baidu Inc and Google in the world's biggest Internet market, the world's largest software maker said.

Commodities as an asset class competed well with others and some of them gave reasonably good returns to investors including gold which rose 26%. The holdings of world's largest gold backed exchange traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) reached a high of 1,134 metric tonnes in June 1 this year and presently hovers at 1,134 MT.

The 3-D extravaganza Avatar ruled the worldwide box office for a second weekend on Sunday, while the latest exploits of Alvin and the Chipmunks and Sherlock Holmes helped set a North American sales record.

A British man convicted of smuggling drugs into China was told on Monday he would be executed in the next few hours, as his family made a last-minute plea for clemency, arguing he is mentally ill.

About 300 survivors of a deadly outbreak of SARS in China in 2003 are now suffering from serious after-effects, possibly due to aggressive hormone treatment to save their lives, the Beijing News said on Friday.

Oil rose to above $79 a barrel on Monday, the highest in more than a month, as colder weather across the United States and signs of economic recovery helped boost the fuel demand outlook.

China Eastern Airlines said on Monday it had agreed to buy 16 Airbus A330 planes, giving a boost to the European planemaker as companies compete to gain a foothold in the fast-growing market.

The Chinese government is highly concerned by fast-rising property prices in some cities and will work to combat speculation, Premier Wen Jiabao said in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao on Monday called on Hong Kong to handle political reform effectively, just as opposition democrats in the city planned fresh protests at the slow pace of change.