CHINA

Tiffany & Co posted higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on cost cuts and slightly recovering demand for jewelry, and raised its full-year outlook, sending its shares up more than 8 percent.

China Shenhua Energy Co, China's largest coal producer, posted record quarterly profits on higher sales and output and said it expects a fledgling recovery in China and the region to boost demand.

U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth will not visit North Korea if he goes to Asia soon nor does he have plans to meet North Korean officials elsewhere in the region, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.

PetroChina, the world's most valuable oil and gas producer, said it plans to pump up its refining capacity by two-thirds by 2017, banking on fuel pricing reforms at home to improve its finances as it bids to become a major global refiner.

Apple's iPhones will go on sale later this year in China, the world's largest mobile market, its partner China Unicom confirmed on Friday, after the country's No. 2 mobile carrier posted first-half profits that fell 45 percent yet beat expectations.

Stock futures rose on Friday after a better-than expected quarterly performance from computer maker Dell Inc boosted the technology sector ahead of key U.S. consumer data.

Stock futures rose on Friday fueled by higher oil prices and a better-than expected quarterly performance by computer maker Dell Inc .

China Unicom, China's No.2 mobile carrier, said on Friday it had sealed a deal to sell the wildly popular iPhone in China, giving iPhone maker Apple access to the world's largest mobile market.

Oil rose further above $72 on Friday after snapping a two-day fall from 10-month highs a day ago, boosted by better-than-expected GDP and jobs data in the United States that signal the economic recovery is on track.

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China Mobile is to release the closely-watched 3G Ophone next week, while rival China Unicom is to bring Apple's iPhone to China as soon as Friday, which may add fuel to the flames in the fiercely competitive Chinese market.

Wuhan Iron & Steel Co.(WISCO) plans to raise as much as 12 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) in a rights offer to buy factories and a stake in a construction-steel maker from its parent, after a plunge in net income of first-half 2009.

Kazakhmys PLC, the largest copper producer in Kazakhstan names Clinton Dines, former CEO of BHP Billiton China, as an additional independent non-executive director.

After months of speculation and rumors, reports surfaced on Thursday indicating that Apple will officially launch the iPhone 3G in China come October.

Just two months out of bankruptcy, Chrysler Group has renewed the hunt for a manufacturing partner in China as it prepares to revamp its product lineup under the control of Italy's Fiat SpA (FIA.MI), three people with knowledge of the discussions said.

Brazilian miner Vale is not not talking with Chinese steelmakers about the iron ore benchmark price for 2009, now and it will go on supplying iron ore to China at a temporary price, which is 60% to 80 % of the 2008 price, company CEO Roger Agnelli said on Wednesday.

Kazakh copper producer Kazakhmys Plc posted better-than-expected first-half earnings on Thursday, helped by cost cutting and the sale of stockpiled inventories to China, lifting its shares more than 4 percent.

PetroChina, the nation's largest oil company, has denied a recent scandal that their employees were involved in purchasing over 1,000 apartments with preferential treatment in Beijing, CCTV reports.

China Everbright Bank's 11.5 billion yuan ($1.68 billion) private share placement has been approved by regulatory authorities, furthering the bank's quest for an initial public offering.

For centuries, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and her enigmatic smile have inspired as much speculation as admiration. Now she's ready to answer questions -- in Mandarin.

G20 policymakers meeting in London next week will likely pledge to maintain accommodative policies for as long as is needed, a G7 source told Reuters on Thursday.