CHINA

Asian stocks fell sharply Thursday after soaring Italian borrowing costs stoked fears the debt crisis in the euro zone's third biggest economy will overwhelm its financial defenses, raising the risk of a break-up of the currency area.

Republican presidential candidates often struck a professorial tone, forgoing several chances to attack their opponents during Wednesday night's GOP debate at Michigan's Oakland University. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney emerged the winner -- not by any merit of his own, but by exhibiting the fewest flaws in an otherwise very deficient field.

China's exports in October rose at their weakest pace in eight months, underlining official concern about the sector that has dragged on economic growth this year while imports jumped much more than expected.

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday it would investigate whether Chinese companies sell solar panels in the United States at unfair discounts and receive illegal government subsidies.

Securities regulators approved strict new listing standards for reverse merger companies on Wednesday amid a rash of recent accounting scandals.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) registered another difficult day Tuesday, plunging 389 points to 11,781 on institutional investor concern that Italy will not be able to service its debt, and that one, and possibly more countries may leave the Eurozone. What's the prudent stance for the typical investor?

Russia attacked Tuesday's International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran's nuclear program, saying that it would not allow the United Nations to impose any punitive measures on the Islamic republic.

General Motors Co posted a lower third-quarter profit on losses in Europe and offered a disappointing outlook that raised doubts about the speed of its turnaround two years after emerging from bankruptcy.

Chinese industrial output grew at its weakest annual pace in a year in October and inflation fell sharply, raising expectations Beijing will do more to support economic growth by fine tuning policy.

General Motors Co posted a third-quarter profit that fell 15 percent after a loss in Europe and forecast that operating profit in the current quarter would be flat from a weak fourth quarter in 2010.

London-based jeweler Graff Diamonds plans to raise about $1 billion in a Hong Kong listing next year, a move that could fund expansion in Asia and capitalize on booming gem prices.

Luxury and retail group PPR SA said it has agreed terms to acquire the Italian suitmaker that once clothed James Bond.

Ericsson, the world's top mobile network gear maker, cautioned that new lower-margin business would hit profitability in the fourth quarter and the global slowdown could mean its customers spend less.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: SodaStream International, Yongye International, KIT digital, Universal Display, and City Telecom HK. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Rovi, Blue Nile, STEC, Alaska Communications Systems Group, and China GrenTech.

Malaysia wants economic growth. It wants to catapult itself from a middle-income country to a high-income country.

After swallowing months of cost increases that have eaten into their bottom lines throughout 2011, the nation's largest restaurant chains are positioning themselves to dish out incremental price increases to patrons over the next couple of months.

Tencent Holdings Ltd, China's biggest Internet company by revenue, reported its slowest profit growth in four years, missing analysts' estimates on softer growth in its casual games and lower margins due to increased investments.

Google Inc will continue to offer support to firms using its Android system that are involved in legal disputes, its executive chairman Eric Schmidt said on Wednesday, as the Internet giant looks to cement alliances in the face of toughening competition.

Argentina's biggest energy firm YPF has announced that it had found nearly a billion barrels in unconventional energy resources in Patagonia. YPF is the Argentine unit of Repsol YPF SA, Spain's largest oil group.

Barclays Capital believes that iCloud could be Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) most important new service since the launch of iTunes in 2003.

Chinese industrial output in October grew at its weakest annual pace in a year and inflation fell sharply, raising expectations Beijing will do more to support economic growth by fine tuning policy.