Standard & Poor's cut its rating outlook on Japan on Tuesday and China implemented a clampdown on lending, hitting investor confidence about global economic recovery.
Fears of more Chinese policy tightening spooked global markets on Tuesday after Beijing ordered some banks to comply immediately with a planned increase in reserves and a report suggested earlier attempts at curbing lending had failed.
Stock index futures pointed to a lower opening on Wall Street on Wednesday, following declines in Asia after China implemented an increase in higher reserve requirements for some lenders.
Chinese state media stepped up their war of words with the United States over Internet control on Tuesday, with a top newspaper claiming a U.S. conspiracy and saying China can live without Google.
China implemented a planned increase in required reserves for some banks on Tuesday, sources said, sparking knee-jerk selling of Asian stocks which underscored how sensitive global investors are to Beijing's tightening of monetary policy.
Asian stocks slid on Tuesday, with Taiwan suffering its worst one-day fall in six months, as fears mounted that China could impose further measures to curb soaring loan growth, potentially dampening a global recovery.
Asian stocks fell on Tuesday as fears of further clampdowns on lending in China and a U.S. plan to freeze domestic spending sparked worries about the outlook for global growth.
The yen held broadly steady on Tuesday, hovering below a nine-month peak struck against the euro last week and taking a breather from a rally triggered by the onset of risk reduction. The yen surged last week as investors dumped higher-yielding currencies and risky assets on concerns that China's efforts to curb its surging economy could impair global growth and worries over a White House plan to curb risk-taking among banks.
China widened its attack against U.S. criticisms of Internet censorship on Monday, raising the stakes in a dispute that has put Google in the middle of a political quarrel between the two global powers.
Microsoft Corp Chairman Bill Gates on Monday said the Internet needs to thrive in China as an engine of free speech and described official online censorship by Beijing as very limited.
Fans and investors are anticipating a major week for Apple as the company is expected to post huge profits on Monday, followed by a highly anticipated new product launch this Wednesday.
Corrects city where Cisco CEO spoke in paragraph 11
Websites run by Chinese human rights activists were hit by cyber-attacks over the weekend, highlighting increasing sophistication of efforts to censor dissident voices in China.
Oil prices steadied below $75 a barrel on Monday, after slipping toward a one-month low on continued market unease over possible tighter Chinese monetary policy and a U.S. proposal to toughen bank trading rules.
Oil prices fell on Monday, approaching one-month lows near $74 a barrel, on continued market unease over possible tighter Chinese monetary policy and a U.S. proposal to toughen bank trading rules.
Stock index futures pointed to a rebound on Wall Street on Monday following last week's sharp sell-off, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.82 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.74 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.51 percent at 4:15 a.m. EST.
Oil prices fell on Monday, approaching one-month lows near $74 a barrel, on continued market unease over possible tighter monetary policy in China and a U.S. proposal to tighten bank trading rules.
Cisco Systems' chief executive said on Monday he expected the spat between Google Inc. and China to be resolved, saying the issue was part of a natural give and take.
The yen and the U.S. dollar dipped on Monday while the euro and high-yielding currencies advanced, lifted by reports that Ben Bernanke was moving closer towards being confirmed for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Markets have been fretting since late last week over whether Bernanke would be approved for the job. [nN24141266]
China's gross domestic product growth is likely to grow about 9.5 percent in 2010, largely driven by strong domestic consumption and corporate investment, a government researcher said in remarks published on Monday.
China has every right to punish citizens using the Internet to challenge Communist Party power and ethnic policies, a senior official said Monday, pressing Beijing's counter-offensive against Google Inc.
Japanese manufacturers' confidence has recovered to its highest level since the global financial crisis hit, but remains weak overall due to concerns about deflation and sluggish domestic demand, a Reuters poll showed.
