CHINA

China easily beat its 2009 growth target after a blistering performance in the fourth quarter that forms a powerful springboard for it to jump over Japan this year to become the world's second-largest economy.

China easily beat its 2009 growth target after a blistering performance in the fourth quarter that forms a powerful springboard for it to jump over Japan this year to become the world's second-largest economy.

When Google threw down the gauntlet to China's Internet censors, it also challenged the loyalties of the nation's wired generation.

After dropping 199 pips from the London opening of 1.4279 to trade as low as 1.4080, the EUR/USD is eerily quiet ahead of the Chinese GDP and Industrial Production data to be reported at 9:00 pm New York time. A drop in EUR/USD is a gain in the dollar.

The amount of time youngsters are spending on the web has ballooned to proportions that exceed the average adults full working week, according to a new study.

The Dow suffered its worst drop of 2010 on Wednesday as U.S. stocks succumbed to fears that China's curbs on bank lending might jeopardize the global economic recovery, while IBM's outlook sparked caution about the technology sector.

Microsoft Corp said it will issue a patch to fix the old version of its Internet Explorer browser that allowed recent attacks on Google Inc's network in China.

U.S. housing starts unexpectedly fell last month as unusually cold weather hampered construction, but a jump in building permits to a 14-month high indicated the housing market recovery was intact.

They are cloaked by pseudonyms and multiple addresses, but China's legions of hackers were thrust into the spotlight last week after Google said it suffered a sophisticated cyber-attack emanating from China.

Google Inc is expected to deliver stellar fourth-quarter results on Thursday, but investors will be seeking insight into a disagreement with China that has cast its future in the world's largest Internet market into doubt.

U.S. home starts unexpectedly fell last month as unusually cold weather hampered construction, but a jump in building permits to a 14-month high indicated the housing market recovery was intact.

Wall Street suffered its worst slide of 2010 on Wednesday as investors worried that lending restrictions in China could hurt the global economic recovery, while a conservative outlook from IBM dented recent optimism about the technology sector.

Oil prices fell toward $77 a barrel on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened and Wall Street slipped on worries about domestic bank results and bank lending curbs in China.

The dollar continued to rally in Wednesday mid-day trading New York time after Chinese authorities announced ahead of the Asian trading session that banks will slow lending for 2010.

U.S. stocks were having their worst day of 2010 on Wednesday as lending restrictions in China worried investors about the global economic recovery, while a conservative outlook from IBM weighed down technology shares.

U.S. stocks extended losses on Wednesday as investors pummeled technology shares, sending the Nasdaq down more than 2 percent following IBM's disappointing outlook.

Oil slipped below $78 a barrel on Wednesday on fresh evidence of tightening credit policy in China, a stronger dollar and expectations that U.S. refiners processed less crude in the latest week.

U.S. stocks were poised for a lower open on Wednesday on reports of bank lending restrictions in China and as quarterly results from three big U.S. banks raised uneasiness about the state of the sector.

Top European carmaker Volkswagen plans to build its fifth plant in China along with its Chinese partner, with an initial annual production capacity of at least 200,000 units, the 21th Century Business Herald said on Wednesday.

Its history is peppered with cloak-and-dagger stories which fostered a reputation for winning technology by hook or by crook. But today Huawei Technologies' disciplined growth strategy is a beacon to many emerging markets firms.

China punished some banks, including Bank of China , for lending too much, after a surge in new loans this year increased inflationary pressures, sources said on Wednesday citing central bank figures.