CHINA

The moves puts the focus on Mark Fields, 50, who runs Ford's operations in North and South America, and Joe Hinrichs, 45, who runs the automaker's operations in Asia, as the leading internal candidates to succeed Mulally.

India and Iran share close historical links, or so argued India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Now economic interests are pulling the two countries closer again. India has struck a clever deal to pay for Iranian oil in its own not freely convertible currency, the rupee. It could be a diplomatic hot potato.

Singapore enjoys close relations with both the U.S. and China.

Siri, the voice-controlled intelligent assistant exclusive to the iPhone 4S, will support Chinese language from March, Tech in Asia reported, citing the Chinese tech site DoNews.

China's inflation unexpectedly rebounded in January mainly due to gains in food prices and a weeklong holiday. Though this does not change the broader downward trend in inflation and provides room for Beijing to stimulate its economy if the Euro area experiences a sharp recession. It does support economists' view that Beijing will not put in place aggressive stimulus packages as it aims for a smooth leadership transition this year.

To whet the appetite of Apple fans, who are eagerly waiting for the highly anticipated iPad 3, a purported rear shell of the yet-to-be-released tablet was leaked, suggesting several subtle changes from its predecessor.

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both down 0.1 percent, while Dow Jones futures were up 0.2 percent at 6:28 a.m. ET.

China's annual inflation spiked to a consensus-busting 4.5 percent in January as spending jumped during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday season, breaking a five-month softening trend and forcing a market rethink of policy easing expectations.

Gold edged up along with crude oil and the euro on expectations the Greek prime minister's presence in Brussels Thursday signals a likelihood his nation will receive desperately needed bailout money.

European stock markets and the euro extended two months of gains on Thursday as Greece edged closer to a bailout deal and investors bet a brace of central bank meetings would offer further support for the move into riskier assets.

The rally in the euro and European shares advanced on Thursday as Greece edged closer to a bailout deal and on expectations the Bank of England and the European Central Bank will maintain support for the move into riskier assets.

China's stock market improvement could be jeopardized by a higher than expected inflation reading for January.

More than three quarters of U.S. company bosses think that the federal government did not do its part to effectively deal with the implications of the global economic crisis.

Asian shares struggled but the euro recovered on Thursday, as markets were left without a clear direction after Greek political leaders failed again to conclude a deal for a bailout package, which Athens needs to avoid a messy debt default.

China's Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's No.2 PC maker, plans to sell smart televisions in China and has no immediate plans to ship overseas due to a lack of content, CEO Yang Yuanqing said on Thursday.

China's annual inflation spiked to a consensus-busting 4.5 percent in January as spending jumped during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday season, breaking a five-month softening trend and forcing a market rethink of policy easing expectations.

China's annual inflation rate hit 4.5 percent in January, which is the highest level in three months, according to the official data released Thursday.

Asian shares and the euro struggled Thursday, as sentiment grew cautious after Greek political leaders failed to conclude a deal for a bailout package crucial to avoiding a messy debt default.

'Friends of Democratic Syria' would look at tightening sanctions on Syrian government and getting humanitarian aid through.

Armoured reinforcements poured into Homs as President Bashar al-Assad's forces bombarded the rebellious Syrian city for a fourth day, opposition sources said Thursday, worsening the dire humanitarian situation and prompting a new diplomatic push from Turkey.

Japan's Nikkei average eased from a three-month high to trade below 9,000 Thursday amid uncertainty over the outcome of the Greek bailout talks.