CHINA

Britain is considering disrupting online social networking such as Blackberry Messenger and Twitter during civil unrest, Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday, a move widely condemned as repressive when used by other countries.

Alibaba.com, China's largest e-commerce firm, beat forecasts with a 29 percent rise in quarterly net profit, its smallest rise in about 1-1/2 years, and warned that the adverse global economic outlook could hit its second half.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Wednesday are: Demand Media, Active Network, Jaguar Mining, China Ming Yang Wind Power and Jones Group. The top after-market NYSE losers are: EnerSys, Alpha Natural Resources, Navistar International, Morgan Stanley and 7 Days Group Holdings.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Gibraltar Industries, Nara Bancorp, Bon-Ton Stores, Medivation, and Altra Holdings. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Open Text, Qlik Technologies, China Gerui Advanced Materials Group, Home Inns & Hotels Management, and Shanda Interactive Entertainment.

U.S. stock futures rose 2 percent on Thursday after a sharp drop on Wall Street overnight, limiting losses in Asian shares, though sustained gains depended on how Europe reacts to a sovereign debt crisis that is threatening its banking system.

New China Life, the third-largest life insurance company in China, has filed its listing application with the Hong Kong stock exchange, setting the stage for a planned IPO of up to $4 billion in Hong Kong and Shanghai, sources with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters on Thursday.

China's price rises may have peaked but the country still faces inflationary risks, including the possibility of a new round of monetary easing by the United States, China's top economic planner said on Wednesday.

August's dramatic financial shock, which is now both feeding off and risks fueling another economic downturn, may well introduce a third phase of the four-year-old global credit crisis -- the infection of the ultimate creditors.

Car sales in China climbed 6.7 percent in July from a year earlier, extending a pattern of subdued growth in the world's largest auto market as the weak auto selling season kicks in.

HSBC plans to dispose of its 8 percent stake in Bank of Shanghai, a Chinese newspaper reported on Thursday, citing unidentified sources.

China Railway Group , the country's largest railroad builder, has dropped a plan to raise about 6.2 billion yuan ($966 million) via a share placement, the company said on Thursday.

Beijing should move rapidly to diversify its foreign exchange reserves, buying more euro and yen rather than dollar assets, after U.S. debt was downgraded by one rating agency, a paper run by China's central bank cited local banking sources as saying.

Bank of America Corp has held exploratory talks with the principal investment funds of Kuwait and Qatar about selling part of its stake in China Construction Bank <0939.HK>, sources with direct knowledge of the talks told Reuters.

The newest version of Apple Inc's popular iPhone has already hit the Chinese market -- the fake market that is.

Customs agents have seized three gallons of a chemical used to make the date rape drug GHB at Los Angeles International Airport amid a surge in illegal shipments of the intoxicant, authorities said on Wednesday.

In the eyes of the financial markets, Britain was supposed to be a model of successful, sustainable austerity and a safe haven in which the world's rich could buy houses and stash their savings.

The Treasury Department may be playing undertaker to the underwriter.

New blood test can determine the gender of a fetus at seven weeks

China released its first aircraft carrier, called the Varyag, on Wednesday morning local time for a sea trial.

A reorientation of Russia to East from West could be a complete economic game-changer.

The narrow U.S. escape from default and its credit downgrade have added to a perception that the United States is in decline, a view that could weaken Washington's influence abroad.