CHINA

Gold jumped to another record high on Friday after the dollar fell to its lowest since late 2009 against a basket of major currencies, taking silver to a 31-year high, while inflation pressures in China also helped lift bullion's appeal.

Faced with an uneven world recovery and uncertain outlook, finance leaders were hoping on Friday to flesh out a plan to build a global economy less prone to the booms and busts of recent decades.

China's annual gross domestic product growth eased ever so slightly in the first quarter of 2011 to 9.7 percent from 9.8 percent in the previous quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.

Behind every story of economic / societal development are the workers who made them happen. It was true for ancient societies like China and true for the United States in the early 20th century. Now, it's true for booming emerging market economies like China and India.

Best Buy Co Inc said it will boost its Web presence, shrink some larger stores and open more of its smaller U.S. stores to try to win back market share from the likes of Amazon.com Inc and Wal-Mart Stores.

As America and China grow more economically and financially intertwined, the two nations have also stepped up spying on each other. Today, most of that is done electronically, with computers rather than listening devices in chandeliers or human moles in tuxedos.

Best Buy Co Inc plans to boost its Web presence and open a greater number of small stores in the United States targeting mobile customers in an effort to win back market share from the likes of Amazon.com Inc and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Stocks slipped on Thursday as Goldman Sachs pulled financials lower and an unexpected rise in jobless claims added to bearish sentiment that put the S&P on track for its fifth day of losses in six.

Best Buy plans to boost its Web presence and open a greater number of small stores in the United States targeting mobile customers in an effort to win back market share from the likes of Amazon and Wal-Mart.

The interbank silver market [in Asia] is dysfunctional says one Hong Kong dealer's note. Liquidity is getting worse while the price action is getting more exaggerated as a result.

Wall Street stocks were set for a lower open on Thursday as worries about higher inflation and signs of job market weakness kept investors cautious.

Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, a venture capitalist and social networking investor who has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Facebook, Groupon and Zynga, is opening an office in Hong Kong, according to a source familiar with the matter.

China's foreign exchange reserves soared to a record of more than $3 trillion by end-March, while its money supply growth blew past forecasts, threatening to aggravate the nation's inflation woes and trigger more policy tightening.

Stock index futures fell on Thursday before U.S. data that could shed light on the impact of rising commodity prices and as concerns grew over Chinese inflation.

Stock index futures fell on Thursday as investors awaited data to assess the impact of rising commodity prices amid growing concerns over Chinese inflation.

US stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday after President Barack Obama detailed his plans for cutting the deficit and the Federal Reserve reported encouraging news on the economy.

US stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday after President Barack Obama detailed his plans for cutting the deficit and the Federal Reserve reported encouraging news on the economy.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly weaker start for Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq down 0.1 to 0.2 percent by 0847 GMT.

The dollar sank to a 16-month low against a basket of currencies on Thursday as investors bet U.S. monetary policy would continue to be loose, while a report that Chinese inflation will rise dragged on equities.

Zoom Technologies Inc signed a licensing pact with chipmaker Qualcomm Inc, allowing the Chinese mobile phone maker to develop and sell 3G devices using Qualcomm's chip patents, sending its shares soaring as much as 64 percent.

Which is the hardest working member of the OECD? The answer might surprise you.