CHINA

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.

Japanese researchers at the Kyoto University have broken the rare earth import jinx as they have created a new alloy which resembles rare metal palladium, bringing a sigh of relief to countries depending on Chinese exports of rare earth metals.

The number of people looking for health information online is set to soar as workers return from holiday breaks, but few will check where the information comes from, according to an international survey on Tuesday.

Recently, investors have been wildly bullish on the U.S. stock market. However, extremely bullish sentiment often precedes a reversal of fortune for the stock market and there are fundamental reasons to be bearish on the stock market.

U.S. auto sales rose to the highest rate in 16 months in December as major automakers forecast the recovery would gather momentum in 2011 despite the drag from a weak housing market and rising oil prices.

Inflation might not be China's biggest concern in 2011, as many experts believe, an economist at Capital Economics said in a note.

The huge floods sweeping across northeast Australia could have a significantly negative impact on the global steel industry.