CHINA

Europe and the G20 leading economies must act decisively and quickly to avoid another full-scale world recession, Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned on Thursday.

The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) reduced its forecast for the country’s economic growth this year to 4.58 percent from its previous 5.02 percent estimate.

China's consumer inflation dipped to 6.1 percent in September, retreating further from three-year highs, although stubborn food price pressures will deter the central bank from loosening its policy reins anytime soon.

G20 ministers should not focus on increasing the International Monetary Fund's resources and should instead keep the pressure on Europe to resolve its debt crisis, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Friday.

Gold prices will climb to $2,075 next year on six key variables that, UBS said Friday in a report on the precious metal.

Mattel Inc , the world's largest toy company, reported a bigger-than-expected fall in gross margins, hurt by a stronger dollar and higher costs, taking the gloss off a record jump in sales of its iconic Barbie dolls heading into the critical holiday season.

South African stocks rose more than 1 percent on Friday, capping their best weekly performance in six weeks, as shares of Kumba Iron Ore and other resource firms gained after data from China boosted hopes of greater demand from the country.

A successful outcome for the next global climate change conference in Durban would be to get everything in place for a legally binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol in less than five years, the European Union's chief climate negotiator said.

The iPad 3 is rumored to be headed for production, according to AllThingsD, with a release date set for some time in early 2012.

The International Monetary Fund may need a capital injection of about $350 billion to give it more firepower to fight economic crises, an emerging market G20 source said on Friday.

The third quarter could mark the end of a hot streak for Ericsson as a combination of a global slowdown, tough competition and an increase in low margin business cloud the outlook for the world's top mobile equipment firm.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is spreading around the world. There are now protests in Spain, England, Hong Kong. Italy is next in line. Can the international movement be sustained?

Mattel Inc , the world's largest toy company, reported a bigger-than-expected fall in gross margins, as it spent more on making, packaging and transporting its toys, sending its shares down 4 percent.

Rockstar Games releases its landmark game on mobile devices to celebrate 10-year Anniversary

President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday hailed a long-sought trade deal as an engine for job creation in both countries and presented a united front in the North Korean nuclear standoff.

China's consumer inflation dipped to 6.1 percent in September, retreating further from three-year highs, although stubborn food price pressures will deter the central bank from loosening its policy reins anytime soon.

Gold prices ticked up Friday as market sentiment swung back towards risk and away from safety, but there was little evidence the yellow metal was ready to break out of recent trading limits.

Stock index futures rose on Friday, shrugging off a credit rating downgrade of Spain, propelled by strong earnings from Google Inc. and hopes the Eurozone will continue progress toward a solution to its debt crisis.

Stock index futures rose on Friday, shrugging off a credit rating downgrade of Spain, propelled by strong earnings from Google Inc and hopes the euro zone will continue progress toward a solution to its debt crisis.

The Eurozone debt crisis will dominate a summit of G20 finance chiefs and central bank heads in Paris, with a downgrade of Spain's credit rating highlighting the risk of a much larger economy than Greece coming under threat.

Gold was slightly higher on Friday and headed for its biggest weekly gain in more than a month, shrugging off the credit rating downgrade of Spain ahead of a G20 meeting whose agenda will be dominated by the euro zone debt crisis.