CHINA

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has hinted that his country will not back away from its nuclear ambitions threatened by the possibility of a U.S.-backed Israeli military strike.

Oil fell on Monday for the first time in four sessions, with Brent slipping towards $125 as global demand concerns took centerstage following weak Chinese exports, countering support from supply disruption worries in the Middle East and Africa and a brightening U.S. economic outlook.

China lowering its growth target will have no direct impact on policy and also will not necessarily mean that it is less supportive to growth in the rest of the world, according to a report by Capital Economics.

China's Sina Corp estimates 60 percent of the users of its popular microblogging Weibo platform would have registered their real identities by a March 16 deadline in compliance with government regulations, a company spokesman said on Monday.

The People's Bank of China on Monday fixed the yuan's mid-point against the dollar sharply lower, its second biggest single-day fall on record, in the latest sign China intends to let its currency move in a wider range.

Asian shares fell Monday as investors paused to assess the effect of strong U.S. jobs data, which scaled back expectations for more easing ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting, while concerns over China's slowdown also weighed on sentiment.

European plane-maker Airbus has teamed up with French flag-carrier Air France and supplier Safran to call for France's help in resolving tensions with China over the European Union's controversial carbon emissions tax, which they say is threatening orders, French daily Les Echos said.

The NBA on Saturday, fined New York Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith $25,000 for posting a photo of video model Tahiry Jose on Twiiter. Smith on Friday, said he regretted the decision.

Mark Twain would have been amused by the remarks of new Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook last week when he announced the post-PC era. As Twain observed after reading his obituary, The report of my death was an exaggeration.

Call us crazy, but the two most recent major economic data releases by China -- the consumer price index on Friday and the trade balance on Saturday -- indicate there could be a case to be made for monetary stimulus in the world's second-largest economy.

Luxury brand Tag Heuer signed Hollywood star Cameron Diaz as the new face of the brand during the opening of the global watch event Baselworld 2012 in Switzerland.

If inflation is a dragon that must be slain, China's Premier Wen Jiabao has shown he is willing to sacrifice a part of the country's most vital asset to do so -- growth.

China had a trade deficit of $31.48 billion in February, according to data revealed by the General Administration of Customs Saturday. This is another indication that global economic condition is continuing to affect the country's exports.

Researchers in the US and China have found the earliest known evolutionary evidence of Iridescent feathers through a new fossil study of a pigeon-sized, four-winged dinosaur called Microraptor.

The Syrian crisis has pushed the Chinese to engage internationally significantly more than it has in the past. Some remain skeptical as to China's interest in Syria, but the recently released 6-point statement shows a China attempting to strike a middle-ground.

In a stunning move, China's trade balance fell to a deficit of $31.5 billion in February from a surplus of $6.5 billion in January, according to data in multiple media reports on Saturday -- and the country's trade deficit may be its largest in the 21st century.

China's trade balance plunged $31.5 billion into the red in February as imports swamped exports to leave the largest deficit in at least a decade and fuel doubts about the extent to which frail foreign demand or seasonal distortion drove the drop.

The copper price will fall to $5,000 per tonne over the next two years, well below current levels of around $8,400 and less than half the highs seen in early 2011 according to a report by Capital Economics.

China chalked up its largest trade deficit in at least a decade in February at $31.5 billion, as imports soared 39.6 percent on a year earlier at more than twice the pace of export growth, leaving analysts cautious about seasonal distortions to trade activity.

China chalked up a $31.5 billion trade deficit in February, its largest in at least a decade, as exports and imports rebounded from a seasonal slowdown caused by Lunar New Year holidays, customs data showed on Saturday.

The global markets tumbled this week, due in part to concerns about China's slowed economic growth. There are several reasons, however, why China's economic slowdown could actually benefit the U.S., despite the market's immediate reaction. One reason is the possible return of jobs to the United States' manufacturing sector.