CHINA

The United States was a net exporter of solar energy products last year, thanks to strong demand from China, Germany and Japan for U.S.-made polysilicon and capital equipment used to make solar panels.

Shaanxi Coal Industry won approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) for its potential 17.3 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) initial public offering in Shanghai, the CSRC said on Monday.

China's central bankers have found a new way of keeping banks from lending too much, a step Beijing hopes will help it tackle the country's persistent inflation woes.

China will steadily increase the issuance of urban construction investment bonds but will limit total local government debts at 100 percent of their revenues, the National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday.

Zurich Financial does not plan to cut its 15 percent equity stake in China's third-largest life insurer, the Swiss insurer's chief executive said on Monday.

While the United States says many hacking attacks appear to come from China, often targeting human rights groups as well as U.S. companies, China says that it is one of the world's biggest victims of hacking attacks.

Chinese photovoltaic equipment maker Beijing Jingyuntong Technology has set an initial public offering price at 50 times its historic earnings, boosted by demand from the country's push for solar energy.

China is targeting 3 gigawatts (GW) of roof-mounted solar power generating capacity by 2015 and 25 GW by 2020, the China Securities Journal reported on Monday, citing a government renewable energy development plan that is likely to be unveiled soon.

Air China , the country's flag carrier, said on Monday that it had won regulatory approval to engage in fuel hedging, adding it will enter contracts when oil price volatility decreases.

China's Internet television company Youku.com Inc said it had entered into an agreement with DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc for online distribution of KungFu Panda franchise films in mainland China.

GOME Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd , China's second-largest electronic appliances distributor, said on Monday that 60 percent of its new stores for 2011 will be opened in second-tier Chinese cities.

Hong Kong shares could edge lower at Monday's open, with turnover likely to stay low though U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on Friday could boost cyclicals, limiting losses.

Figuring out what the People's Bank of China is doing can be as perplexing as parsing a statement from Alan Greenspan, the notoriously opaque former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman.

While Lady Gaga and Katy Perry rocked at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night, they have also been blacklisted in China, finding themselves on a new banned list of artists for their vulgar lyrics.

Cuban hurdler Dayron Robles was stripped of gold and glory at the world athletics championships on Monday in a twist every bit as dramatic as Usain Bolt's disqualification from the blue riband 100 meters sprint the night before.

The United Nations warned Monday of a possible resurgence of the bird flu virus, reports the Associated Press.

LDK Solar Co Ltd suffered a quarterly loss as a sharp drop in solar wafer prices forced it to write down millions of dollars in inventories, but forecast revenue for the current quarter above estimates on stabilizing prices.

In seeming disregard, or perhaps in spite of it, Ai Weiwei broke the conditions of his release from a detention in Beijing to issue a scathing attack on the Chinese government in an online editorial published by Newsweek.

Bank of America shares rose more than 6 percent after the banking company announced it agreed to sell Chinese Construction Bank Corp.

There's evidence that avian flu is mounting a comeback.

China's Supreme Court and prosecutors office will step up the fight against computer hacking by toughening penalties for those caught doing it, state media said on Monday.