CHINA

Even as the U.S. and China are preparing for what is termed as the most important heads of state level meeting in a decade, Japan has come out strongly for healthy ties between the world's two largest economies which happen to be political adversaries as well.

Nokia is expected to report its third profit fall in a row as the mobile phone company struggles to compete against high-end smartphones of Apple and Samsung, while also losing share at the cheaper end of the market.

Google Inc. has extended its dominance in the worldwide search advertising market amid challenges from Microsoft’s Bing and rising competitive obstacles in fast-growing regions, says a report from IHS iSuppli.

Swatch Group , the world's largest watchmaker, gave an upbeat outlook for 2011 as it expects strong demand for its watches to help offset the impact of the soaring Swiss franc.

China's exports of vital rare earth elements used for numerous high-tech goods slipped almost one-tenth last year but the overall value rocketed as quota cuts lifted international prices, data showed on Wednesday.

Asia's rapid economic growth will moderate slightly in 2011 even as policymakers combat rising prices with higher interest rates and try to keep local currencies from appreciating too sharply, a Reuters quarterly poll showed.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers on Tuesday are: NuVasive, Datalink, Coldwater, Ener1 and TASER International. The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers on Tuesday are Cree, DepoMed, Rubicon Technology, Veeco Instruments and Ares Capital.

An increasing number of U.S. companies in China say the enforcement of intellectual property rights has deteriorated in the last year and that the regulatory environment is the biggest hurdle to doing business there, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will reshuffle his cabinet on Wednesday in a mid-term effort to refresh a coalition government snared by corruption scandals and year-high food inflation as it faces key state elections.

History shows the U.S. can force China to revalue the yuan.

Executives from General Electric, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola, Boeing, Intel and Carlyle Group will be among U.S. business leaders at a meeting on Wednesday hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama with Chinese President Hu Jintao, a White House official said.

Hong Kong stocks are set to rise on Wednesday following a higher close on Wall Street which was supported by commodity-related counters and strong earnings from technology bellwethers Apple (AAPL.O) and IBM (IBM.N).

A trade delegation from China will sign agreements in Chicago on Thursday to buy an unspecified amount of U.S. soybeans, the U.S. Soybean Export Council said in a statement.

U.S. President Barack Obama came under increasing pressure on Tuesday to publicly speak out against Beijing's harsh treatment of political and religious dissidents during a state visit this week by Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Barack Obama will meet with U.S. and Chinese business leaders at the White House on Wednesday to discuss ways to expand trade and investment opportunities, with the U.S. executives seeking deals to tap into China's economic growth.

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in the United States on Tuesday for a four-day state visit peppered by U.S. complaints about Beijing's currency policies but sweetened by some $8.5 billion in business deals.

International Business Machines Corp's quarterly profit blew past Wall Street estimates, and a long-hoped-for recovery in its services business raised optimism that global companies were confident enough to spend more on technology.

Foreigners increased purchases of U.S. securities in November, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday, though it was private investors rather than central banks who did the bulk of the buying.

Foreigners increased purchases of U.S. securities in November, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday, though it was private investors rather than central banks who did most of the buying.

South Africa petrochemicals group Sasol said on Tuesday it would not continue with a planned coal-to-liquids plant project in Indonesia as it seeks to focus more on gas-to-liquids opportunities.

China's Sichuan Hongda Co. Ltd. will invest $3 billion in a coal-fired power plant and two iron ore mines in Tanzania, the state-run National Development Corporation (NDC) said on Tuesday.