CHINA

From dawn in Tokyo to dusk in New York on Friday, fear lifted gold to a record high -- its fifth such day in a row -- and boosted silver, too, as the world's investors succumbed to the accumulated effect of one emerging danger after another.

The iPad 3 is in development, according to a report. Apple's new tablet will likely be released in early 2012, the report said.

Bill Gross, manager of the world's largest bond fund, said on Friday the decline in Treasury yields to 60-year lows reflect a high probability of recession in the United States.

As U.S. Vice President Joe Biden built trust with China in Beijing's corridors of power, goodwill between the two nations unravelled Thursday night on a nearby basketball court, where players traded kicks and punches and even a chair was thrown.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, in China on a five-day charm mission, has worked hard with his hosts to inject a little amity into the sometimes fractious relationship, pulling punches but not his punch lines.

Somaliland has struck a deal with Chinese businessmen to extend its Berbera port as well as TO build a refinery and new roads in the breakaway northern enclave, its president said.

China's buying of West African crude oil is set to rise about 15 percent in September from August, trade sources said on Friday, but overall Asian imports from West Africa will fall due to slower Indian demand.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Friday said China had nothing to worry about concerning the safety of its vast holdings of Treasury debt, while China's Premier Wen Jiabao gave a ringing endorsement of the resilience of the debt-ridden U.S. economy.

Is the PC dead? With tablets booming, will there be a PC in 10 years?

The darkening economic outlook this month has sent investors out of the palladium market in droves, but the coming months of uncertainty are likely to be more of a cooling-off period than an end to their romance with last year's star performer.

German composer Robert Schumann's tale of a fairy-like creature's quest to enter paradise opened an Oriental-themed Edinburgh International Festival this weekend to the acclaim of the critics.

The upcoming iPad 3 is due to arrive in early 2012 and is expected to go into trial production by October.

Georgetown men's basketball team and the Chinese professional team met on Friday to smooth things over, a day after a nasty brawl broke out between the two teams.

Apple is prepping for a bigger iPhone market in this second half of the year analysts say, ramping up the orders of its current iPhones and also stepping up production the anticipated iPhone 5.

The buzz on the release date of Apple iPhone 5 has reached a fever pitch and the latest scoop is that the smartphone will be released on Oct. 7 with pre-orders likely to begin from Sept. 29 or 30. And we are loving it.

Hewlett-Packard is making a bold move to reshape its business that analysts are applauding as having long-term upside. In the short term, however, investors are concerned about the cost and risks involved -- sending HP shares down 16.23 percent Friday in pre-market trading.

Copper steadied on Friday, pausing for breath after the previous session's hefty falls, although growing concerns about a slowdown in the United States and a debt crisis in Europe weighed on sentiment and capped further gains for the metal.

Toronto-listed miner Rusoro appeared unfazed on Thursday by President Hugo Chavez's move to nationalize Venezuela's gold industry, saying it believed the decision only targeted illegal miners.

In a bold move, Apotheker -- who took the job as HP CEO in November -- has decided to spin off the company's PC unit that accounted for 30 percent of sales in the most recent quarter. But it's not hard to understand why, since HP's PC unit, despite being the largest in the U.S., generated only a 5.9 percent operating margin.

South African 800 meters world champion Caster Semenya has shrugged off talk of injury, weight issues and a rift in her camp to declare herself ready to defend her title in Daegu, South Korea early next month.

Apple fans have reasons aplenty to rejoice. If rumors are to be believed then the images in this article were taken from a factory in China where employees are working on iPhone displays.