Asian stocks rose on Monday on hopes for the global economy, with Taiwan shares hitting a near 7-month closing high, while oil prices slipped below $52 after a dramatic oil demand downgrade by the International Energy Agency.
(Corrects in paragraph 8 KOSPI's closing level to 1,338.26, not 1338.16)
Oil fell to around $51 a barrel on Monday after the International Energy Agency cut its forecast for oil demand, overshadowing data showing Chinese crude imports rose to their second highest ever.
UBS , the world's biggest wealth manager, said on Monday it expects growth in its Taiwan client assets to pick up in the second quarter as improved ties with China help boost investor confidence.
China's economy is showing some signs of improvement, but a big fall in wholesale prices in Japan suggested the world's second-largest economy was sliding back toward deflation.
A summit of Asian leaders in Thailand was canceled on Saturday after anti-government protesters swarmed into the meeting's venue, renewing doubts about the durability of the government.
Japan's manga-loving prime minister, Taro Aso, has long touted the importance of soft power content such as comics and anime to boost Japan's global diplomatic status.Now he's targeting pop culture's economic potential.
U.N. Security Council negotiations on how to respond to North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket are deadlocked, U.N. diplomats say.
Asian equity markets are likely to run out of steam after leading a one-month rally in global stocks, with the full brunt of the deep global recession yet to be fully felt on corporate earnings and balance sheets.
Japan's Nissan Motor Co and France's Renault said on Friday they will supply electric cars to China, the world's largest auto market.
Japan's latest burst of economic stimulus spending is aimed at promoting energy-efficient products made by recession-hit exporters, but analysts say it is unlikely to help the world's fifth-biggest polluter cut greenhouse gas emissions.
U.S. bank Wells Fargo forecast a record profit, South Korea steered clear of recession, and Chinese export data beat expectations, all offering hope that the worst of the financial crisis had passed.
Southeast Asian nations finalized their contributions Thursday to increase the size of planned foreign exchange pool from $80 billion to $120 billion in order to fight the global financial crisis.
China has denied a report issued yesterday stating that it had penetrated the U.S. electrical grid.
China Merchants Bank the country's sixth-largest lender, said its net profit in 2008 rose 38.27 percent to 21.08 billion yuan ($3.08 billion).
North Korea re-elected Kim Jong-il as its supreme military leader at its newly seated parliament on Thursday, marking his return to center stage as the country celebrates what it calls a triumphant satellite launch.
Waste Management Inc. the biggest company in the U.S. that transports trash is in talks to build and operate waste-to-energy plants in China.
Somali pirates defied international naval powers on Thursday to keep an American ship captain hostage on a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean after their first seizure of U.S. citizens.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will inaugurate the country's first nuclear fuel production complex later on Thursday, an Iranian official told Reuters.
A U.S. Navy destroyer arrived off Somalia on Thursday to apply pressure for the release of an American ship captain taken hostage in the first seizure of U.S. citizens by increasingly bold pirates.
Dutch ING plans to sell operations worth up to 8 billion euros ($10.6 billion) to reduce risk, focus its bank on Europe, and manage its banking and insurance separately, boosting its shares on Thursday.
Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday after the New York Times reported the U.S. banking industry seems to be in better shape than many people think, citing officials involved in the federal stress tests.
