CHINA

The Chinese yuan could potentially become a world reserve currency as the country gears up to boost its global clout, deputy central bank governor Yi Gang said in remarks published on Thursday.

If you’ve followed the auto industry for a while you’ll know that automakers are always sharing technology and projects in cross-collaborations that would normally make any paranoid hard-nosed capitalist weep in fear. But the latest firms to receive official blessing for a joint project might not be the strange bedfellows they appear at first.

China wants to elbow U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) out of a $15 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday in an example of the new competition Beijing presents to U.S. interests.

China should reform its powerful and lucrative state-owned enterprises and force them to withdraw from profit-making sectors, a private Chinese think tank founded by former government researchers said.

Hong Kong stocks are set to rise slightly on Thursday as investors seek bargains amongst Chinese shares listed locally as mainland markets look poised to continue their outperformance relative to the region.

U.S. stocks edged up higher on some positive jobs data and reassurance from the Federal Reserve that the economy is recovering. However, any equity gains were capped by fears over the continued unrest in Libya and rising crude oil prices.

Libya’s embattled leader Moammar Gaddafi has offered amnesty and some other concessions to anti-government rebels who turn in their weapons.

Prices for Dollar investors to Buy Gold crept higher to reach a new all-time record Wednesday lunchtime in London, as crude oil rose further above $100 per barrel and world stock markets fell for the eighth time in nine sessions.

London Commodity Brokers (LCB) aims to sell 2 million tonnes of South African thermal coal a year for Strategic Natural Resources (SNR) PLC, using the port of East London rather than the highly congested Richards Bay.

Bombardier Inc said on Wednesday it will sell as many as 120 aircraft to Warren Buffett's NetJets Inc, a deal that could be worth more than $6.7 billion and which sent its shares soaring 8.3 percent.

China aims to allow all exporters and importers to settle cross-border trades in its currency the yuan by 2011, according to Chinese central bank, reported Reuters.

Profit at Standard Chartered <2888.HK> jumped 19 percent in 2010 and the Asia-focused bank said it was off to a record start this year as China, India and other Asian markets boomed.

Gold prices held just below the previous session's record high in Europe on Wednesday, as the acceleration of global inflation and the threat that violence in the Middle East and North Africa will spread supported interest in the metal as a haven from risk.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Shanda Games, Mecox Lane, China Techfaith Wireless Communication Technology, Cytori Therapeutics, Novavax, and Yahoo!. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Wonder Auto Technology, Vical, Sina, Hudson City Bancorp, and Joy Global.

China is locking down droves of people it fears could spark social unrest and tightening media controls ahead of the annual session of parliament, worried that uprisings in the Middle East could encourage dissent.

China has decided to cut income taxes for middle-income residents by raising the threshold for income tax payments, China's cabinet said on Wednesday, but did not give any details on the size of the tax cut.

Jon Huntsman is a savvy operator who knows how to work a crowd. But it was someone in a crowd who worked Huntsman on a bitterly cold Sunday last month when the U.S. envoy to China was seen at a small anti-government protest in Beijing.

Asian stocks ended lower on Wednesday, following declines in the Wall Street overnight on concerns that rising oil prices could hurt economic recovery.

Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered <2888.HK> met expectations with a 19 percent rise in profits and said it was off to a record start this year as China, India and other Asian markets boomed.

With anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks, and social media platforms Twitter and Facebook in the running, Internet dominates the race for Nobel Peace Prize 2011.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Mecox Lane, Shanda Games, Trustmark, Cytori Therapeutics, Hercules Offshore, and Yahoo!. The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Datalink, Wonder Auto Technology, Sina, ArQule, and Ener1.