CHINA

Stock markets in China and Hong Kong gained Monday as sentiment was buoyed after the news that pro-bailout parties in Greece gained sufficient votes to form a government.

India despite its slowing economic growth is poised to emerge as the top sixth wealth market in the world, according to Datamonitor's 2012 global wealth market report.

In the latest blow to international efforts to stem the spiraling bloodshed in Syria, the United Nations has announced it is suspending its observer mission.

China put its first woman into orbit on Saturday, one of three astronauts to attempt a critical space docking in the latest challenge for the country's ambitious space programme. A Long March rocket blasted off in the early evening from the remote Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the northwestern Gobi Desert, carrying with it the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft and the three astronauts, including 33-year-old female fighter pilot Liu Yang.

Asian markets rose this week amid hopes that central banks around the world will take coordinated stimulus measures to tackle the European financial crisis and regain global economic growth momentum.

There are fresh signs the U.S. economy may be caught in a storm fed by a floundering Europe and a slackening China. Weakening demand in both regions appears to be taking a toll on U.S. manufacturing, already the locus of a contracting workforce.

On Saturday, China will send a female astronaut into space for the first time.

The development comes as Western and some Arab nations have apparently lost hope that Russia, Syria?s strongest ally, will pressure Assad to give up power or end his crackdown on opponents.

Details of the fate of bankrupt Swedish carmaker Saab Automobile AB continue to emerge following the June 7 news that the company had been purchased by a Sino-Japanese joint venture National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, or NEVS. NEVS plans to use Saab to produce electric cars, the consortium announced Friday.

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), the world's biggest software company, is expected to make a new consumer push by announcing its own Windows Tablet for shipment next quarter, industry analysts said.

Nissan Motor Co. (Tokyo: 7201) is expected to build a 5 billion yuan ($785 million) factory in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, an aggressive move into territory traditionally under the sway of Volkswagen AG (Frankfurt: VOW) and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), according to the Japan Daily Press Friday.

Poland looks to shale exploration, despite concerns over fracking.

Manufacturing in the New York region hardly expanded in June as orders and sales cooled, the New York Federal Reserve's Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed Friday.

Asserting the importance of cash and intellectual property to implement the proposed measures for a sustainable economy, a senior Brazilian negotiator warned against using Europe's financial crisis as an excuse for inaction and underfunding at the Rio+20 conference in Brazil Thursday.

Asian markets rose Friday as investor confidence was boosted by expectation for stimulus measures from policymakers globally.

Stock markets in Hong Kong and China advanced Friday as weak U.S. economic data and worsening euro zone crisis raised hopes that the major central banks would act to tackle deteriorating global economic conditions.

Wal-Mart was accused Thursday of breaching food safety standards in China by selling sesame oil containing excessive amounts of benzopyrene and squid containing hazardous levels of cadmium, both chemicals classified as carcinogenic.

Authorities in the world's major economies are preparing for a possible market storm or public panic after cliffhanger Greek elections this weekend, officials said on Thursday, should radical leftists win and cast doubt on the nation's future in the euro zone.

Though foreigners are now banned from traveling to the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Chinese name for Central Tibet, the Himalayan hinterland has experienced a boom in tourism thanks to Chinese visitors.

A campaign to root out corruption in China's soccer leagues and administrative institutions appears to be effective -- but for how long?

Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, and the rest of the PGA's stars get to work at the US Open this weekend.