CHINA

The percentage of Chinese who are satisfied with current price levels sharply dropped to the lowest level in 11 years despite the government efforts to contain rising prices, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) said.

The India-U.S. solar collaboration has hit some snags as the U.S. is trying to push India to remove regulations related to imports of solar technology, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Hansen Natural, Terremark Worldwide, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, National Beverage, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Dynamex, Merge Healthcare, Immucor, Cytokinetics, and P.F. Chang's China Bistro.

For all the 65 million PCs that are expected to be sold in China this year, one question that many people have not yet answered is: how much money is actually made selling these computers?

Nokia Siemens Networks won EU regulatory approval on Wednesday to purchase Motorola's mobile telecom network equipment business for $1.2 billion, in a deal meant to boost its presence in Japan and North America.

China is on course to attract a record $100 billion in foreign direct investment this year, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday, evidence that it remains a top destination for global firms despite concerns about market barriers and rising labor costs.

McDonald's Corp plans to double the number of its restaurants in China to 2,000 by 2013, a senior executive said on Wednesday as it speeds up expansion in the fastest growing major economy.

China attracted $91.7 billion in foreign direct investment in the first 11 months of 2010, nearly 18 percent more than in the same period of 2009, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

The rise in income uncertainty and the 1997 pension reform measures have been largely responsible for the recent rise in China's savings rate. Other factors include health care costs and astronomical real estate prices.

Acer, the world's No.2 PC vendor, expects its China operations to make up more than 20 percent of its total sales in five years, helped by new tablet PCs and an alliance with China's Founder Technology.

General Electric Co said on Tuesday demand for its industrial products and sales in China will allow it to post strong profit growth in 2011 even as margins come under pressure from costs related to research and acquisitions.

General Electric Co said its industrial businesses will grow next year and accelerate in 2012, with revenue flat up to 5 percent in 2011.

The Obama administration has an ambitious goal of doubling U.S. exports over the next five years and creating two million U.S. jobs in the process.

Richard Holbrooke, a top U.S. diplomat who was a key figure in negotiating peace to end the war in Bosnia 15 years ago, and was the special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, died on Monday.

After some seemingly hawkish moves in the past few weeks, Chinese policy makers adopted a dovish tone on Tuesday by easing the consumer inflation target to 4 percent for 2011.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that airlines will earn net profit of $15.1-billion this year – a 70 percent jump from its previous forecast made only three months ago when it forecast profits of $8.9-billion. But the group warned that net profit margins in the airline industry are pathetic

The FT reported that market-making brokerage and bank J.P.Morgan has materially reduced its bets on lower silver prices, citing a person familiar with the matter.

China on Tuesday criticized a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling yesterday that upheld the U.S. decision last year to slap duties on Chinese-made tires and said it will appeal to the global trade body. The Chinese commerce ministry repeated that the safeguard measures adopted by the U.S. on Chinese tire imports were protectionist and counter-productive.

An escalation of trade tensions between China and the U.S. may involve protectionist measures on the U.S. side and the creation of exclusionary Asian trade walls on China's side.

Members of the World Trade Organization are showing new energy and determination to reach a global trade deal but must now abandon fixed positions to clinch the agreement, the head of the WTO said on Tuesday.

German economic sentiment rose more than expected in December, posting an increase for a second consecutive month.