CHINA

Wall Street fell for a second day on Thursday as earnings failed to live up to lofty expectations and investors booked profits in a market extended by weeks of gains.

South Korea agreed on Thursday to a North Korean offer of high-level military talks, a major breakthrough in the crisis on the peninsula which improves the prospect of renewed aid-for-disarmament negotiations.

Iran said it had no fresh offer to make to revive a nuclear fuel swap proposal but was ready to discuss it in talks with world powers on Friday, and Russia said ways of easing sanctions on Tehran should be addressed too.

President Barack Obama urged Chinese President Hu Jintao to let the value of China's yuan currency rise and delivered a strong message on U.S. concerns over Beijing's human rights record at a summit on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday led by losses in the technology sector and on worries that China's rapid growth may lead to more aggressive measures to tackle inflation.

Chinese President Hu Jintao is meeting with Congressional leaders on Thursday, with discussion of the yuan on the agenda.

Wendy's/Arby's Group plans to sell its struggling Arby's roast beef sandwich chain to focus on the Wendy's hamburger business, which top shareholder Nelson Peltz expects to be the company's engine of growth.

Gold fell like a stone on Thursday, following three days of gains, and ignored a recovery in the euro as investment demand waned. Spot gold fell over $20 to $1,348.55 an ounce by 1426 GMT.

Forcing banks to lock up more cash is China's most viable policy option for now as it battles inflation, though that won't shut the door on higher interest rates and faster rises in the yuan.

Stocks fell on Thursday led by losses in the technology sector and on worries that China's rapid growth may lead to more aggressive measures to tackle inflation.

Futures on major U.S. indices pared earlier losses and point to modestly lower opening on Thursday after the Department of Labor reported that weekly jobless claims fell sharply last week.

Facebook's global reach has been the envy of many companies, as about 70 percent of its 500 million users are from outside US and now Facebook has launched an app for feature phones to further bolster its march.

Silver prices could hit an incredible $120 in just three years, propelled by a physical shortage in the silver market and further momentum in economic recovery, CommodityOnline has reported citing a report by thesilvershortage.com.

Michelle Obama asks American students to study in China, stressing the need for competitiveness and cooperation

Stock index futures fell on Thursday after stronger-than-expected economic growth data from China heightened concerns that Beijing may further tighten monetary policy to tackle inflation.

Stock index futures fell on Thursday after stronger-than-expected economic growth data from China heightened concerns the government may further tighten monetary policy.

China's economy recorded a 10.3 percent growth in 2010, coming back strongly from the global crisis, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed.

China's vice-like grip on world rare earths supply is forcing next generation carmakers to look for alternative technologies that don’t rely on these metals. At the forefront of such efforts is world's largest carmaker Toyota, according to ETF Database.

iPhone maker Apple was criticized by Chinese green groups for lax corporate oversight of its suppliers in China, leading to poor environmental and work safety standards that poisoned dozens of factory workers.

China finished 2010 with a bang, its growth soaring past forecasts and inflation slowing less than expected, numbers that could prod the government to intensify its easy-does-it approach to tightening.

World’s most populous nation China is also the largest net savvy population in the world now as more than a third of its population were hooked on to the Internet at the end of 2010, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.