CHINA

AT&T has increased the number of clients it has in the Greater China region by about 50 percent in the past year, a senior executive said on Thursday, and is now looking to target privately run Chinese companies.

The companies that reported news on Wednesday after the market close are: Cisco Systems, CenturyLink, Qwest Communications, Delta Air Lines, Massey Energy, AMR, American Airlines, Ruby Tuesday, Resources Connection, Mindspeed Technologies, Quidel, Lacrosse Footwear, and Daqo New Energy.

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang has said his country is willing to buy about 6 billion euros ($7.9 billion) of Spain's public debt, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Thursday, citing government sources.

Developed market stocks climbed on Thursday on hopes for renewed U.S. economic growth, although the dollar and emerging markets steadied, unwilling to push a rally further ahead of more data on Friday.

The Nikkei rallied on Thursday as investors snapped up shares of Japanese exporters after the dollar hit two-week highs against the yen, but markets elsewhere in Asia were more subdued ahead of the influential U.S. non-farm payrolls report.

The yuan exchange rate is not the main cause of the trade imbalance between China and the United States, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Sharp Corp <6753.T> plans to start selling its Galapagos tablet computer in the United States in the second half of this year, and is ironing out deals with major media and content providers, the head of the company's U.S. unit said on Wednesday.

Panasonic Corp will open up for free its technology for Internet-enabled televisions as it looks to create a rival group to the Sony Corp and Google Inc alliance, the Nikkei reported.

China has reaffirmed its commitment to buying Spanish government bonds, amidst growing concern about the health of peripheral euro zone debt.

Google has not given up on China and is looking for ways to re-enter the market, according to CFO Patrick Pichette.

With the U.S. market promising little growth in 2011, law firms are looking at emerging markets in Asia and South America for spurring their expansion.

Former Shell Oil CEO John Hofmeister's prediction a fortnight ago that retail gasoline prices would hit $5 per gallon by 2015 has gone viral since then, drawing attention largely on the U.S. drilling policies but also spooking consumers and polarizing analysts in the process.

John Lipsky, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has said 2011 will be a pivotal year for the global economic recovery and for international policy cooperation, adding that it's also a crucial year for the Fund as it will try to address these principal challenges.

Toshiba Corp will begin selling large-screen glasses-free 3D television sets in fiscal 2011 and plans to start marketing the groundbreaking devices beyond its home turf of Japan, executives said on Tuesday.

Inflation will be the biggest concern for the emerging markets in 2011 and an important economic gauge to watch in the new year.

People.com.cn, the online news portal run by People's Daily, the mouthpiece of China's Communist Party, aims to list in Shanghai this year, the state-run China Daily reported on Wednesday.

China's largest offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC plans to invest between 800 billion and 1 trillion yuan ($121-151 billion) over the next five years to boost production and expand overseas.

France is heavily involved in industrial espionage against its European neighbors, not China, Russia or the U.S., according to the diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks.

Minutes from the last FOMC meeting held on Dec. 14, 2010.

Investors welcomed Motorola Inc's rebirth as two independent companies, as shares of both Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions rose on their first official day of trading on Tuesday.

Stocks could post double-digit returns in 2011 for the third straight year and outdo global markets, said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at BlackRock Inc.