CHINA

At first glance, a new day seems to be dawning for the overshadowed solar sector in Australia, the world's sunniest continent.

Chinese exports in March were down by double digits from a year earlier, but the decline was smaller than in February, a newspaper linked to the Ministry of Commerce reported on Wednesday.

Intel Corp, the world's largest chip maker, is uncertain when demand for semiconductors will revive, Chairman Craig Barrett said on Wednesday.

A deficit of aluminum in China will be short lived as rumors that smelters are preparing to restart production circulate, Alcoa chief executive Klaus Kleinfeld said on Tuesday.

The Pentagon spent more than $100 million in the past six months to repair damage from cyber attacks and other computer network problems, military leaders said Tuesday.

China urged the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to act carefully in responding to North Korea's rocket launch, maintaining there is a basic distinction between satellite and missile technology.

Four finance centers blacklisted last Thursday in a renewed crackdown on tax fraud were taken off the list on Tuesday after committing to international standards on bank information disclosure.

Bank of America's Merrill Lynch has recently closed the Tokyo office of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity , a major international investment arm of the U.S. bank.

A quarter of the world's companies, and 40 percent in the United States, plan to freeze salaries this year, but employees in South America and India can look forward to robust rises, a global survey shows on Tuesday.

Russia called on other leading powers on Monday to stay focused on nuclear talks with North Korea as Washington pushed for a strong response from a divided U.N. Security Council to Pyongyang's rocket launch.

North Korea launched a Taepodong-2 rocket over the Sea of Japan on Sunday. The launch rattled the North's neighbors and countries around the world. The U.S. and its rallies asked for quick punishment at an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting held hours after launch.

Private equity investors intend to continue making new investment in emerging markets despite the global economic crisis, a survey showed on Monday, seeing them as offering the only growth in a faltering world.

Asian shares climbed to a six-month high on Monday, as hopes that the global economic downturn is nearing its bottom spur demand for riskier assets while hitting the yen and safe-haven government bonds.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has drawn up contingency plans to raise $8 billion in a rights issue underwritten by JP Morgan Cazenove and Credit Suisse, the Sunday Times reported without citing sources.

North Korea fired a long-range rocket on Sunday, provoking international outrage, but a divided U.N. Security Council failed at an emergency meeting to agree on a reaction to Pyongyang's defiant move.

President Barack Obama's pledge to boost IMF resources to help other crisis-hit economies could prove a tough sell for a Congress suffering from bailout fatigue and worried about mounting U.S. debt.

Eight Chinese who used high-tech communications equipment, including mobile phones and wireless earpieces, to help their children cheat at university entrance exams have been jailed on state secret charges, local media said.

G20 leaders have kickstarted stalling world trade with a substantial infusion of funds to finance export credits, but promises to agree a new Doha trade deal and battle protectionism remain vague.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday the United States would lead by example in combating climate change so that developing nations such as India and China would follow suit.

Oil slid to under $52 a barrel on Friday, retreating from the previous session's near 9 percent surge, as expectations of a continued weakness in near-term energy demand prompted investors to take profit.

G20 leaders convinced investors they were united enough to keep a risk-taking rally alive on Friday, lifting Asian stocks a fourth day, but the U.S. dollar fought back from early losses ahead of the latest U.S. payrolls number due later in the day.