INVESTMENT

China's factories ran at their slowest rate for 39 months in August while a double-digit rise in fixed asset investment showed that infrastructure spending remained key to economic growth.

Asian stock markets posted their first weekly gains in three weeks as the European Central Bank's (ECB) announcement about its widely anticipated bond-buying program, and Chinese stimulus measures, triggered a rally on Friday.

Honduras is implementing a bold new plan to establish independent "charter cities" that will operate under separate laws in a bid to draw more foreign investment. Proponents says the plan will create thousands of jobs and spur economic development in the rest of Honduras, while critics say they will only open the door for corporations and other governments to exploit cheap labor and neoliberal tax laws.

Dubai International is rapidly becoming a major international connection. For ailing Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) the move of its European hub from Singapore to the UAE will help lower the cost of shuttling travelers back and forth between Melbourne or Sydney and London.

After breaking from decades of military rule, Myanmar's parliament ratified legislation promoting foreign investment on Friday, opening the southeast Asian country to investment from companies like MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA), the Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE).

Square Enix’s cloud-based gaming portal Core Online was born out of a “selfish” need to grab more gamers, according to the company. While Square Enix would obviously want more people to enjoy their various titles including the upcoming “Hitman: Absolution” and “Tomb Raider,” the company also offers browser-based versions of games like “Mini Ninjas” and “Hitman: Blood Money.”

I have never been certain if tipping was simply a 'courtesy' or the 'law.'

The top after-market NYSE gainers Thursday were Cooper Companies, Sturm, Ruger & Co, Cedar Realty Trust, Lloyds Banking Group and Barnes & Noble, Inc. The top after-market NYSE losers were Infoblox Inc, Pandora Media, Resource Capital Corp, ExactTarget and Calpine Corp.

President Barack Obama made the case for change -- again -- after officially accepting the Democratic nomination for the presidency.

Asian shares rose and the euro steadied Friday after the European Central Bank outlined its bond-buying scheme to help calm the euro zone's debt crisis, while firm U.S. data fed speculation of a strong jobs report later in the day.

Snapshots of Adele's baby bump were taken last week and excitement over the Grammy-winning songstress soared. Last year Adele stunned the audience at the MTV VMAs with her stellar performance, but will the public debut of her baby bump do the same this year?

China has unveiled plans to build dozens of new subway and inner-city rail transit links, data from the country's top economic planning agency show, in a new move to stimulate its slowing economy.

An ADP report that private sector job creation topped analyst expectations by nearly a third has economists taking a second look at their, perhaps too negative, predictions, about what Friday's U.S. jobs report from the Labor Department will show.

Surprisingly strong U.S. job creation last month is forcing some, though not all, analysts to adopt a more upbeat outlook for growth prospects in the world's largest economy.

The finance and oil ministries are lobbying for an increase in prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG, warning cabinet colleagues that time is running out to avert a fiscal disaster and a sovereign credit downgrade to junk by global ratings agencies.

The government is suspected of having spent billions to promote Vladivostok as a major new hub on the Pacific rim, but there are plenty of doubts about whether that will really happen.

After Gottfrid Svartholm was arrested in Cambodia, the Internet was awash with rumors of governments working together to combat online piracy. Those rumors appeared to be confirmed Wednesday when it was announced Sweden would give Cambodia $59 million after the news broke that the Pirate Bay co-founder would be extradited.

Railroad executives said Wednesday that they are not expecting strong growth in cargo volume in the pre-holiday shopping season, but most future holiday gifts are delivered by trucks.

A small spat between a North Korean and a Chinese company has exposed some frays in Pyongyang's relationship with Beijing.

After seizing minority control of Quebec's legislature and premiership on Tuesday, the separatist Parti Quebecois is seeking to increase mining royalties and individual taxes, which could impact companies like Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), Rio Tinto Group (NYSE: RIO) and Xstrata Plc (London: XTA).

Afghanistan is ranked #11 is child mortality worldwide, as foreign investment in the country continues to drop and makes purchasing food even more difficult.