CHINA

Oil slid by more than $3 on Friday, with U.S. crude falling below $100, after an earthquake rocked Japan, creating a 10-meter tsunami and shutting down dozens of plants in the world's third-largest oil consumer.

Brent crude futures fell below $113 on Friday as a massive earthquake rocked Japan, creating a 10-meter tsunami and shutting down dozens of plants in the world's third-largest oil consumer.

U.S. stocks plunged on Thursday as weaker-than-expected economic reports from both domestic and overseas coupled with fears over the impact on oil price by pervasive unrest in the Middle East and North Africa weighed on the sentiment.

The yuan plays only a secondary role among China's options to temper inflation, and monetary policy alone won't be enough to rein in prices, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said on Friday.

European shares hit a three-month low in early trade and Asian stocks too dropped on Friday, while U.S. futures headed lower, after a powerful 8.9-magnitude earthquake has struck off Japan's northeastern coast, triggering a tsunami as high as 10 metres.

While residents in Beijing have reported to have felt the tremors of the massive earthquake that hit Japan Pacific coast, top Chinese seismology expert is confident that the Chinese mainland is not in the danger zone.

The Internet has been abuzz with rumors, prophecies and popular consternation over natural catastrophes and extreme weather that the 'Supermoon' phenomenon on March 19 could bring about.

Flanked by an entourage of assistants and advisors, Chinese mining tycoon Lian Guangming flitted from one luxury jet to another at the Asian AerospaceExpo in Hong Kong.

U.S. stocks plunged on Thursday as weaker-than-expected economic reports from both domestic and overseas coupled with fears over the impact on oil price by pervasive unrest in the Middle East and North Africa weighed on the sentiment.

(Corrects name of Bombardier plane in paragraph 2)

Chinese inflation topped expectations, with prices rising 4.9 percent in the year to February and looking set to climb faster in coming months, adding to pressure for another dose of monetary tightening.

Euro zone leaders are set to agree a competitiveness pact at a summit on Friday and will push Portugal to announce new reforms to increase market confidence as they seek to draw a line under the regions' debt crisis.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: CDC Corp., Ener1, RC2 Corp., Clean Energy Fuels, and Sangamo Biosciences. The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Energy Conversion Devices, Zumiez, Jamba, Stereotaxis, and Clearwire.

U.S. officials believe China's insurance regulator passed on proprietary information about AIG to its Chinese rivals during the American firm's collapse in 2008, according to unpublished diplomatic cables.

Asian shares dipped on Friday as spreading unrest in Saudi Arabia and weak economic data spurred some profit taking while the euro looked shaky after its biggest one-day fall versus the dollar in a month.

U.S. stocks plummeted on a slew of troubling developments, including a surprising trade deficit in China, a downgrade of Spain’s debt, along with fears over the impact on oil price by pervasive unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.

Chinese stocks traded on US exchanges are undervalued and mispriced, said Benjamin Wey, president at New York Global Group.

Oil recouped most of its deep losses in late trade on Thursday after reports of police firing on protesters in Saudi Arabia revived fears of further unrest in the world's top exporter.

China's growing capabilities in cyber-warfare and intelligence gathering are a formidable concern to the United States, the top intelligence official told a Senate panel on Thursday.

Brent and U.S. crude oil futures pared losses on Thursday, beset by deeper geopolitical concerns on witness reports that police fired upon protesters in Saudi Arabia's Eastern province.

Facebook not only made household names out of its founders thanks to the movie The Social Network -- it has also minted the latest crop of the richest people on the planet.