CHINA

Stock index futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 2 percent, Dow Jones futures down 1.5 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 2.2 percent at 5:17 a.m. EDT.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that attacks on pro-democracy protesters have stopped, but activists reported more bloodshed overnight.

German carmaker Volkswagen expects to maintain strong growth in the face of an economic slowdown, the head of the company's works council said.

China Mobile logged its fastest half-yearly profit growth in nearly three years as the world's largest mobile operator by subscribers attracts more high-end 3G users upgrading to smartphones.

Global economic health rests on the United States and China finding common ground, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told China's leader-in-waiting, Xi Jinping, in talks aimed at shoring up faith in the dollar.

China Mobile Ltd, the world's largest mobile operator by subscribers, posted a 6.3 percent rise in net profit for the first six months, logging the fastest half-year growth since 2008 as the carrier tries to attract more high-end 3G users.

Gold demand fell in the second quarter but is still expected to rise for the full year as Asian buyers add to holdings and investors shift to it as a safe haven, the World Gold Council said Thursday.

Global economic stability rests on the United States and China working together, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told top Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing Thursday.

Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's No.3 PC brand, reported a near doubling of its first-quarter net profit, beating expectations due to acquisitions and growth in key emerging markets such as China.

Sina Corp, China's largest Internet portal, said net profit fell 60 percent as the firm spent heavily on investment in its highly popular microblogging service, Weibo.

One in five Internet users visited Amazon in the month of June, according to a comScore report.

New York City is one of the most recognized, filmed, visited and loved cities in the world. There are a lot of obvious parks, buildings and areas to visit, but Times Square is not the real New York. Here's a look at some of the (relatively) less congested sites to see in "the Big Apple."

Joe Biden has much on his agenda when during his visit to China this week.

Russia pitched on Wednesday a proposal to Iran's foreign minister which it hopes could bring a breakthrough in a confrontation over Tehran's nuclear programme, despite doubts in the West that the plan can make much headway.

When the leaders of the world's two biggest economies meet in Hawaii three months from now, U.S. President Barack Obama will still be able to brag to Chinese President Hu Jintao that the United States has more big companies than any other nation on the planet.

An anti-corruption movement led by a feisty 74-year-old social activist is snowballing into one of the biggest challenges in decades for the ruling Congress party and if not contained risks sparking India's own version of an Arab Spring revolt.

Beetel Teletech, part of India's Bharti Enterprises that controls top mobile carrier Bharti Airtel , launched a tablet computer priced at 9,999 rupees ($220) on Wednesday.

Chinese search engine Baidu Inc may face tighter regulations after facing a barrage of criticism from state media over its business practices at a time when it is cementing its dominance of the booming Internet market.

The planned layoffs would reportedly include management, pilots, cabin crew and engineers. The company has a total of 35,000 employees.

Vice President Joe Biden began his six-day state visit to China, where he is expected to talk to leaders about a number of U.S.-Sino issues, including debt and Taiwan.

Reports regarding the death of Jackie Chan have erupted on social media websites like Twitter for the second time this year.