The week to November 24 was marked by tensions in Korean peninsula that prompted investors to flee from risky assets to safer avenues like US dollar and gold, helping the yellow metal outshine its colleagues in the precious group. However, silver and palladium remained strong in the month, mainly helped by demand for cheaper alternatives in jewelry and industrial applications.
The year 2010 was not good for Google in China and the hacking was, indeed, part of a sabotage attempt carried out with help from the government quarters, reveal the classified U.S. documents released by Wikileaks on Sunday. China to Germany, US diplomacy generally smacks of quid-pro-quo dealings, as ever.
The documents leaked by WikiLeaks late on Sunday showed the state department ordered a surveillance of the activities of the United Nations personnel including the secretary general and asked its agencies to collect exhaustive information on the U.N staff, including personal details.
China on Sunday proposed an emergency meeting of all nations involved in the Six-Party Talks over North Korea in early December. Seoul responded immediately dismissing the resumption of talks as not timely. Meanwhile, South Korea had mistakenly fired an artillery shell towards the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
Beijing is set to make an 'urgent' announcement on Sunday afternoon in the wake of US-south Korea military drills in the Yellow Sea. The Chinese government had earlier warned both countries that the military activity in the region could escalate tensions.
According to the London-based daily al-Hayat, the WikiLeaks release includes documents showing Turkey has helped al-Qaeda in Iraq, So far, the countries making rounds in news and on Twitter which may figure in Wikileaks' release include the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Israel, Iraq, India, China, Turkey, Russia and Iceland.
North Korea's fire power and military might foil South's attempts to tame the communist regime, by all odds.
Performance of the US dollar, Europe's periphery issues, inflation in developing world, consumption by developed ones, and of late, tensions in Korean peninsula- a lot of things are weighing on oil. The net result in recent weeks was positive for the greenback and therefore negative for oil. Still, the commodity is set to end this week with a positive note despite losing more than a dollar from its intra-week high by Friday. So, what is the trend? Where is oil heading?
As the stock market focuses its gaze upon the holiday shopping season, two of the most prominent companies in the retail sector that may attract much attention are Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT).
The European Commission announced plans on Thursday to ban trading credits related to certain industrial gases from its Emissions Trading System (ETS) starting from 2013.
Precious metals and euro dropped on Friday as European periphery worries intensified, helping safe-haven interest into the US dollar. EUR/USD touched a fresh 2-month low.
The European Union is attempting to find alternate sources of rare earth mineral after China's exports of the mineral fell drastically last month.
Bad debt related to credit cards in China rose in the third quarter, as the amount of money 180 days past the due date increased sharply.
Ford Motors, the second-biggest U.S. automaker, opened 40 dealerships in China on Thursday and plans to add another 26 by year's end.
Supermodel Liu Wen made her official debut as an Estée Lauder global spokesmodel in Beijing to launch the brand's new 'Pure Color' makeup collection.
The IMF published a study asserting that growing income inequality in the U.S. triggered the two most severe financial crises and economic downturns of the last 100 years by creating unsustainable imbalances.
Ten General Motors executives bought shares at the initial offering price, documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed on Wednesday.
South Korea's defense minister Kim Tae-young resigned late on Thursday as criticism mounted over the government's response to the North Korean shelling on a dispute island which killed four people.
After nearly a 17-year long wait, Russia could finally be a member of the World Trade Organization by 2011, as it finally reached a deal with European Union, the last opposing member, on Wednesday.
A reignited civil war after the Southern Sudan referendum on independence could cost the International community and the country at least $100 billion, a think-thank report said. The January 9 vote is likely to go in the favor of the oil-rich South Sudan's demand of secession from the North. Tensions have been escalating in the region with reports of a fresh wave of attacks led by the government troops on South Sudan regions.
Dollar, Korea, Ireland, Asian demand, inventories and technicals - a lot of things are weighing on oil now. But market participants find the question if the commodity has reached its bottom technically and on robust demand in some regions, or will a dollar rally or geopolitical developments force it break below the current range, tough to answer.
Within days after she announced her intention to run for the President, Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, is caught up with yet another gaffe. This time, referring to North Korea as an ally of the United States.
