CHINA

The new seven wonders of nature have been named Friday Nov. 11 by the New Open World Corporation in a provisional list based on the first count of voting results.

Can you imagine spending $2 million on a trailer? This list of oddly expensive places is sure to surprise.

Heads of government attending Asian summits hoping to fathom China's foreign policy mood swings might spare a thought for Beijing's own leaders, who fear their expanding influence is attracting a new circle of potential foes not fans.

Chinese importers are buying less spot copper as it has become more difficult to secure U.S. dollar letters of credit and on sufficient domestic supply, traders said on Friday.

After a series of tightening measures by China's central bank choked off bank loans to small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs), many resorted to importing copper and other commodities as a way to get cheap loans.

Falling home prices and sales are pressuring liquidity and margins of Chinese property developers, raising concerns that smaller companies may be pushed to the brink of collapse.

Tourist arrivals in Mauritius rose by 3.8 percent in October from a year earlier, the government said on Friday, helped by a surge in tourists from China.

Automotive giant Daimler, a leading German exporter, is against keeping Greece in the euro zone at all costs and believes Europe's single currency will survive even if Athens is forced to return to the drachma.

Asia-Pacific CEOs will press world leaders on Friday to boost growth and seal a regional trade deal, goals made more urgent by the European debt crisis that has darkened global economic growth prospects.

Despite the current global economic crisis -- which seems to have taken a relative stranglehold on Europe -- France has somehow managed to weather the storm. And, perhaps, thrive, if even just a bit.

Oil -- the lifeblood of the global economy and a critical factor in the growth of U.S. gross domestic product -- is set Friday to close its longest stretch of weekly gains in more than two years, a counterintuitive trend that belies certain economic fundamentals.

Chinese banks wrote 587 billion yuan ($92.5 billion) of new loans in October, much more than expected and a sharp jump from September, evidence of selective policy easing by the government to keep the world's second-largest economy on an even keel.

China's Suning Appliance Co Ltd, the country's biggest electronics retailer has signed an agreement with IBM to build a multi-billion e-commerce platform, both companies said in a statement on Friday.

Stocks were poised for a higher open on Friday as debt-laden Italy moved to implement tough austerity measures crucial to avoid a euro zone meltdown.

Diplomatic deadlock is curbing China's will to provide cash to help end the euro zone crisis after Europe spurned the simplest of Beijing's three key demands, two independent sources have told Reuters.

Stock index futures rose on Friday with markets hopeful that debt-laden Italy will implement tough austerity measures crucial to avoid a euro zone meltdown.

Stock index futures rose on Friday with markets hopeful that debt-laden Italy will implement tough austerity measures crucial to avoid a euro zone meltdown.

The astronomically-high levels of interest short-sellers are giving shares of Groupon puts the company among the top 10 publicly-traded firms 'shorts' are betting against. That, most definitely, can't be good for Groupon.

Private equity firms including KKR and TPG Capital are looking to potentially buy minority stakes of up to 20 percent in Yahoo Inc with an eye to eventually taking over the whole company, people with knowledge of the situation said.

The U.S. government on Thursday delayed approval of a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline until after the 2012 U.S. election, bowing to pressure from environmentalists and sparing President Barack Obama a damaging split with liberal voters he may need to win reelection.

Sony and Apple are set to compete in a new space - televisions - as both technology giants are working on their own next-generation connected television sets.