CHINA

In the wake of recalls of millions of products manufactured in China, some US consumers have become wary.

A computer developed for the world's poor children, dubbed the $100 laptop, has reached a milestone: It is now selling for $200.

North Korea is on track to disable its nuclear program by the end of this year as its differences with the United States have mostly been resolved, a U.S. envoy said on Tuesday.

Dishes, toys, jewelry and backpacks that have not yet been recalled all carried worrisome levels of lead, the nonprofit Consumers Union said on Monday.

China is tightening application procedures for firms seeking to manufacture drugs, state media reported on Monday, following a rash of scandals over fake medicines and corruption in the industry.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp on Monday posted a better-than-expected 38 percent rise in first-half operating profit, helped by strong sales of power systems and elevators to emerging nations, and it raised its full-year outlook by 17 percent.

China has the world's largest commercial bank, its biggest aluminum maker, its No. 2 oil firm and its fourth-largest investment bank. It has five of the world's 10 biggest companies, versus three for the United States.

General Motors Corp, one of the world's top two automakers, said it had yet to regain a competitive edge in the United States while future growth would come increasingly from markets such as China and Brazil. GM lost more than $12 billion in the past two years, and is in the midst of a sweeping restructuring that includes cutting more than 34,000 jobs and closing 12 plants in North America.

Credit crunch or not, the allure of stellar growth and profits remains for investors.

Stocks rallied on Friday after Microsoft's upbeat outlook boosted the three major indexes and a profit forecast from lender Countrywide Financial buoyed the struggling financial sector. Stocks extended their gains as the weekend approached, in a sign investors are expecting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates when it meets next week, analysts said.

China's central bank said yesterday that it is necessary to appropriately increase the regulation and control of its monetary policy, improve the formation mechanism of RMB exchange rate, and promote the RMB capital account to be convertible stably.

Airbus A380 showcased its interior cabin in the Shanghai Pudong International Airport yesterday and carried nearly 150 guests for the one hour's demonstration flight.

China: GDP grows 11.5% in the first three quarters According to the State Statistics Bureau, China's national economy continued stable and rapid development throughout the duration of this year. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) hit 16.6043 trillion yuan ($2.1 billion) in the first three quarters of this year, with year-over-year growth of 11.5%. The figures represent 0.7% growth compared to the same period last year.

Risk education for new investors in soaring markets is key to preventing financial and social turmoil should stocks drop.

Nintendo Co Ltd said it aims to launch its Wii game console in China and South Korea next year, helping accelerate its break-neck growth and cement its recent lead over Sony Corp and Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft Corp has made progress in getting its Windows software to work on a low-cost laptop computer for poor children that currently runs on rival Linux software, an executive said on Thursday.

Chinese Internet search company Baidu.com Inc beat forecasts by more than doubling its quarterly profit, but its shares fell 4 percent as its profit guidance fell short of some investors' expectations.

Merrill Lynch & Co Inc. may look to sell its 20 percent stake in Bloomberg LP to raise capital after writing down $8.4 billion of assets last quarter, some investors have said.

The dollar's drop is addressing problems - including a big trade deficit and slowing economy - with few ill effects.

PetroChina, China’s largest oil producer, has set the price range of its A-share Initial Public Offering (IPO) between 15 to 16.7 yuan per share, the company announced on the HKEx on Wednesday.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion will target multinational corporations in the first phase of its new push into the huge Chinese market, its co-chief executive said on Wednesday.