CHINA

Asian stock markets declined Wednesday as weaker-than-expected Japanese trade data dampened sentiment.

Japan reported Wednesday a rise in trade deficit in July compared to the previous month with a decrease in exports and an increase in imports, raising concerns of the global economic condition.

Most of the Asian markets fell Wednesday as investor confidence was weighed down by the report that Japan's trade deficit increased in July, raising more concerns about the faltering global economy.

Asian shares fell Wednesday morning after recent rally, but the euro held near a seven-week high on hopes the European Central Bank will act to rein in surging euro zone borrowing costs and policymakers will find ways to keep Greece on lifelines.

A top Syrian said Tuesday the government is prepared to discuss the exit of President Bashar al-Assad, but his resignation cannot be a precondition for talks.

Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), the No. 3 PC maker, reported second-quarter results that missed analyst?s estimates. Worse, the company said it expected third-quarter performance to fall below expectations.

Royal Dutch Shell announced plans to spend at least $1 billion a year exploiting China's supply of shale gas, Reuters reported. The news came from the energy firm's head executive in China, Lim Haw Kuang, who responded to Reuters' questions about the alleged $1 billion-a-year plan to invest in the potentially vast natural gas trove.

Controversial film directors Michael Moore and Oliver Stone joined forces to pen an op-ed Monday in The New York Times in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's effort to seek political asylum in Ecuador.

Beijing's flood disaster in July was viewed by many as proof that Chinese cities are ill-prepared for such catastrophes.

At one point, Mintoff said Malta was part of the ?Arab world? ? a stark symbolic separation from its long British identity.

Russia and China have repeatedly rejected moves by the United Nations Security Council to pressure Bashar al-Assad.

Here's a look at photos of the Miss World 2012 winner, Wenxia Yu, and past winners throughout the years.

The northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin announced a four-year plan to invest 1.5 trillion yuan ($236 billion) to stimulate industrial growth, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday. The Communist Party's Tianjin Daily also reported that investments have been announced for 10 industries, including petrochemicals and aerospace.

Glencore International PLC (LON: GLEN), a commodity trading company based in Baar, Switzerland, has said it is prepared to bow out of talks to buy Xstrata PLC (LON: XTA) rather than give in to a demand for more money from a major shareholder of the giant mining company.

Urban Outfitters, China Unicom, Nokia Corp, Deutsche Bank, Unilever, Frontline, Groupon and Cummins Inc. are among the companies whose shares are moving in the pre-market trading Tuesday.

The real estate erosion has gone global. Home prices are down in 12 of 21 countries tracked by the Economist on an annual basis in July, and five additional countries experienced slower growth.

Dell is scheduled to report second-quarter results Tuesday below last year?s. For the first time, the company founded by Chairman Michael S. Dell nearly 30 years ago in a dorm room will be ranked No. 3 in PC sales, having lost its No. 2 ranking last quarter to China?s Lenovo Group.

Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday as investors await the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and the outcome of the European leaders' discussions about the sovereign debt crisis in the region later this week.

Most of the Asian markets rose Tuesday as investors maintained hopes about monetary easing measures from policymakers around the world to tackle the weakening of the global economic growth.

Don?t say technology companies aren?t enormously profitable. An IBTimes review of the cash and investment holdings of 11 of the top technology leaders shows they are sitting atop nearly $375 billion in cash and investments ? or about 24 percent more since the last survey nine months ago.

Apple fans can't wait to get their hands on the iPhone 5, Apple's sixth-generation smartphone believed to finally debut and hit stores next month. But for those who can't wait for the finalized product, China GadgetLand is selling what it claims to be a full "iPhone 5" set, complete with an LCD screen and digitizer assembly, for just $199.