CHINA

Older adults in developing countries who regularly eat fish seem to have a lower risk of dementia, a new study suggests.

North Korea said on Monday it would reopen its border with the South, ending a self-imposed 9-month blockade on a vital source of cash for its leaders as their ravaged economy is squeezed by tightening U.N. sanctions.

The Australian unit of Swiss bank UBS AG thriving, even as its parent struggles in the global financial crisis, and has earned a reputation for snatching deals from rivals and making a success of them.

Despite unveiling a face-saving iron ore deal with Australia's Fortescue Metals Group on Monday, China's embattled steel industry body CISA seems to be ceding its grip on the levers of China's iron ore pricing talks.

China's $200 billion sovereign wealth fund, which made big paper losses on stakes in Morgan Stanley and Blackstone, is set to invest up to $2 billion in U.S. mortgages as it eyes a property market recovery, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

Crude oil futures declined to their lowest level in the entire month to below $66 per barrel on Monday on concerns over the economic recovery. Crude was trading down $1.42 at $66.09 per barrel in the New York Mercantile Exchange ahead of the opening of the market by 8:39 a.m. today.

China should set firm targets to limit greenhouse gas emissions so they peak around 2030, a study by some of the nation's top climate change policy advisers has proposed ahead of contentious talks on a new global warming pact.

Oil fell to a two-week low below $66 a barrel on Monday as investors became more cautious about the pace of global economic recovery and any revival in energy demand.

Asian stocks tumbled to their lowest level in over two weeks on Monday as investors raked in profits amid gloomy U.S. consumer data and a growing belief that market valuations had overtaken economic fundamentals.

Australia's No.3 iron ore miner, Fortescue Metals Group , has agreed to supply China at a 3 percent discount to prices offered by its bigger rivals, in a deal that will allow Chinese steel mills to claim a partial victory in their quest for a better iron ore settlement.

A successful Doha round trade deal could boost the global economy by $300-700 billion a year, a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics said.

A consortium dominated by Swedish owners plans to bid for Ford Motor Co's Volvo car unit, a Swedish business daily reported on Saturday without disclosing its sources.

China's 12 joint-stock commercial banks posted net profit of 45.2 billion yuan ($6.6 billion) in the first half of this year, down 19.3 percent from a year earlier, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, quoting a banking regulatory official.

Search market leader Google Inc holds greater loyalty among its users, who conduct more searches a month than those on Yahoo! and Microsoft, new data issued on Friday showed, posing a challenge for the new team of rivals to Google.

Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP plans to launch a 5-billion-yuan ($732 million) fund that will primarily invest in the city of Shanghai, the city said in a statement on Friday.

U.S. high-technology exporters on Friday welcomed President Barack Obama's decision to undertake a comprehensive review of U.S. export controls rooted in Cold War fears of the former Soviet Union.

Consumers retreat, Boeing's late report, China backs down

China has confirmed its back down from a plan to preinstall controversial Green Dam filtering software on all personal computers sold in the country, though it will still be rolled out in schools and Internet bars.

The U.S. government is covertly testing technology in China and Iran that lets residents break through screens set up by their governments to limit access to news on the Internet.

The U.S. government is covertly testing technology in China and Iran that lets residents break through screens set up by their governments to limit access to news on the Internet.

Myanmar's reduced sentence for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi may be an indication the junta is becoming more sensitive to international pressure as it prepares a transition to civilian rule next year, analysts say.