CHINA

The northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin announced a four-year plan to invest 1.5 trillion yuan ($236 billion) to stimulate industrial growth, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday. The Communist Party's Tianjin Daily also reported that investments have been announced for 10 industries, including petrochemicals and aerospace.

Glencore International PLC (LON: GLEN), a commodity trading company based in Baar, Switzerland, has said it is prepared to bow out of talks to buy Xstrata PLC (LON: XTA) rather than give in to a demand for more money from a major shareholder of the giant mining company.

Urban Outfitters, China Unicom, Nokia Corp, Deutsche Bank, Unilever, Frontline, Groupon and Cummins Inc. are among the companies whose shares are moving in the pre-market trading Tuesday.

The real estate erosion has gone global. Home prices are down in 12 of 21 countries tracked by the Economist on an annual basis in July, and five additional countries experienced slower growth.

Dell is scheduled to report second-quarter results Tuesday below last year?s. For the first time, the company founded by Chairman Michael S. Dell nearly 30 years ago in a dorm room will be ranked No. 3 in PC sales, having lost its No. 2 ranking last quarter to China?s Lenovo Group.

Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday as investors await the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and the outcome of the European leaders' discussions about the sovereign debt crisis in the region later this week.

Most of the Asian markets rose Tuesday as investors maintained hopes about monetary easing measures from policymakers around the world to tackle the weakening of the global economic growth.

Don?t say technology companies aren?t enormously profitable. An IBTimes review of the cash and investment holdings of 11 of the top technology leaders shows they are sitting atop nearly $375 billion in cash and investments ? or about 24 percent more since the last survey nine months ago.

Apple fans can't wait to get their hands on the iPhone 5, Apple's sixth-generation smartphone believed to finally debut and hit stores next month. But for those who can't wait for the finalized product, China GadgetLand is selling what it claims to be a full "iPhone 5" set, complete with an LCD screen and digitizer assembly, for just $199.

Apple fans can't wait to get their hands on the iPhone 5, Apple's sixth-generation smartphone believed to finally debut and hit stores next month. But for those who can't wait for the finalized product, China GadgetLand is selling what it claims to be a full "iPhone 5" set, complete with an LCD screen and digitizer assembly, for just $199. By and large, this iPhone looks to line up with most previous reports, specs, and rumored features of the phone.

The move to ease media censorship raises hopes that Thein Sein?s government will continue to make further reforms in order to put Burma on a firm path towards democracy.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) Chief Exectutive Officer Doug Oberhelman has long been an optimist, but these days he's been scaling back on his optimism.

Gold prices continued to decline this week, dragging even lower due to unusually weak demand from China and India - the two largest gold consumers - that has extended for several months.

Kobe Bryant scored 68 points in the exhibition game in China. The Lakers star made news overseas for the second time this month, after helping Team USA win gold in London.

The death penalty, with a two-year reprieve, usually equates to a life sentence in China. Under the terms of the sentence, Gu will be spared execution if she does not commit any further crimes in the next two years.

Asian stock markets declined Monday on worries that the Chinese government will tighten measures to control rising property prices.

Shanghai police has sparked a controversy for publishing a rank list of beggars most frequently caught begging on the city's metro trains since 2008, with many criticizing the authorities' lack of respect toward the disadvantaged, the Chinese media reported.

Asian stocks fell Monday as it became apparent to investors that Europe's policymakers were still lingering on taking decisive action to contend with the euro zone debt crisis.

The Supreme Court will hear final arguments starting this week in a landmark case over drug patents that could change the rules for the country's healthcare sector and potentially curb its global role as a supplier of cut-price generic medicines.

Most Asian markets fell Monday as investor confidence was weighed down by the lack of stimulus measures from policymakers to support the global economy and regain the growth momentum.

The Miss World 2012 title was awarded to Yu Wenxia on August 18, marking the second time that Miss China had been crowned the honor. The last time China won the Miss World competition was in 2007 when Zhang Zilin took the pageant.