CHINA

Volkswagen will likely complete the first stage of its planned integration with indebted Porsche SE when VW buys a 49.9 percent stake in Porsche's profitable sports car business next week.

German industrial conglomerate Siemens took a big fourth quarter writedown on its struggling network joint venture with Nokia and warned of lower operating profits and possible restructuring in 2010.

Singapore, a Southeast Asian city-state with high per-capita emissions, will head to global climate talks next week with a pledge to cut carbon pollution by 16 percent versus projected business-as-usual levels by 2020.

China's online game revenues are expected to hit 73.1 billion yuan ($10.7 billion) in three years, driven by growing Internet penetration in the world's most populous country, a research firm said in a report released Thursday.

China's online game revenues are expected to hit 73.1 billion yuan ($10.7 billion) in three years, driven by growing Internet penetration in the world's most populous country, a research firm said in a report released Thursday.

China and other big developing nations rejected core targets for a climate deal such as halving world greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 just five days before talks start in Copenhagen, diplomats said on Wednesday.

India thinks it may be possible to cut its carbon intensity by 24 percent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels, according to provisional government estimates obtained by Reuters Wednesday.

Droughts and floods stoked by global warming threaten to destabilize China's grain production, the nation's top meteorologist has warned, urging bigger grain reserves and strict protection of farmland and water supplies.

China's ministry of commerce recently launched a series of global advertising campaigns, trying to bolster the made in China, image, broadcast to media around the world.

Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg sent an open letter to the sites 350 million users about the modifications that have been made to the privacy policies of the world's most popular social networking website.

Hopes China's Tengzhong will complete the deal to buy General Motor's Hummer brand as early as this week appear unlikely to be fulfilled, with the regulator tasked with assessing the deal yet to receive a formal application, according to a regulatory source.

China's leading Internet firm Shanda Interactive Entertainment aims to buy more digital entertainment platforms and game content developers to diversify its revenue stream.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Fubon Financial are among the bidders for Morgan Stanley's stake in Chinese investment bank CICC, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in a deal that could be worth more than $1 billion.

British actor Ben Kingsley, best known for his Oscar-winning role as Mahatma Ghandi, is looking to India again, this time for financing for another historic Indian role -- Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

Contagion from emerging markets Ukraine and Dubai, debt in the eurozone's weakest economies, British politics, climate talks in Copenhagen and tensions with Tehran could all affect Western European markets in December.

Gold scaled another all-time high above $1,200 an ounce on Wednesday, helped by a weaker dollar as it lost some of its safe-haven appeal due to upbeat U.S. home sales and renewed appetite for riskier assets.

Gold surged to an all-time high above $1,200 an ounce on Wednesday, hitting a record for a second straight day, and Asian stocks advanced as investors chased riskier assets offering higher returns.

Foreign firms and individuals will be allowed to set up limited partnership firms in China from March 2010, a move that could make it easier for some overseas investors to tap the domestic market.

Defeat of Australia's emissions trading plans may temporarily dent political momentum ahead of next week's U.N. climate talks, but succeed or fail, the scheme is unlikely to affect global carbon prices until at least 2013.

Geely, the Chinese carmaker picked as the preferred bidder for Ford Motor's Volvo unit, is seeking at least $1 billion in loans from Chinese banks to finance its $1.8 billion bid, sources said on Tuesday.

Chinese solar company Trina Solar Ltd said on Tuesday it entered into a sales agreement to supply approximately 8 megawatts of photovoltaic (PV) modules to the Chinese domestic market.