CHINA

German car sales rose 6.1 percent in December as consumers brushed off an uncertain economic environment and bought more compact cars, high-margin vans and luxury saloons.

Japan's leading share average rose to a three-week closing high on Wednesday after better-than-expected economic data from the United States and China, although strategists said the rally could stall if the euro holds below 100 yen.

China has the largest TV audience in the world -- some 95 percent of the country’s 1.3-billion people are regular watchers.

Greece, deeply mired in its own financial crisis, has been highly dependent on Iranian oil because Teheran has offered debt-ridden nations attractive credit terms.

Wall Street stocks kicked off 2012 with a rally on Tuesday after construction and factory data signaled the U.S. economic recovery was gaining steam.

After closing the book on a wild and nerve-wracking year, investors greeted the first trading day of the year with a wide rally Tuesday -- bidding up equities, commodities and other risky assets across the board.

A Chinese court is allowing a $78 million lawsuit brought against ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) to move forward, after having dismissed a similar lawsuit in 2011, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Friday. The action is being brought by local aquaculture farmers who believe their sea cucumbers were killed by the oil spill.

European stocks rose to their highest close in five months on Tuesday after strong manufacturing data from the world's two biggest economies, the United States and China, boosted investor confidence and helped shift attention away from the Eurozone.

Wall Street stocks kicked off 2012 with a sharp rally on Tuesday after data showed U.S. manufacturing activity and construction spending picked up, signaling the economic recovery was gaining steam.

Now even the East is experiencing a buoyant economic rebirth.

French champagne sales managed to weather the economic crisis in 2011, expecting to show 3.5 percent growth thanks to exports to the United States and emerging countries, but a slowdown is in sight, the champagne trade association said on Monday.

From farmers who swapped fields for cash to 20-something CEOs that inherited the family business, hot new money is flooding India's luxury car market as roaring sportscar engines announce the country's growing wealth on its roads.

Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Tuesday, with risk appetite improving at the start of the new year and as sentiment was boosted by a rally in European stocks and positive Chinese economic data. Japan's market re-opens on Wednesday.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday as investors returned to the market optimistic about the global economy after Wall Street ended flat in 2011.

ICE February Brent crude futures rose $2.97 to $110.35 a barrel in trading, while U.S. crude futures were up $2.70 to $101.53 a barrel. U.S. crude futures were up as much as $101.68 in the trading day.

Paris-based Louvre Museum has reinstated its position as the most-visited art museum in the world with a record 8.8 million visitors last year.

China has agreed to look into a complaint by India's foreign ministry that a diplomat was prevented from treating his severe diabetes and collapsed while offering consular assistance to two Indian citizens on trial in China's Yiwu city.

Apple iPhone 5 rumors have been continuously circulating on the Internet, with the most recent one, from Barclays Capital, stating the iPhone is Apple's largest and most profitable product line.

What will the year 2012 bring? Well, it looks like: the Summer Olympics in London. After that, venturing a prediction is a tough task, but here are a few.

Saying the Korean peninsula was at a turning point, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Monday urged North Korea to embrace a new era by using its new change of government head to transform Korean ties.

Crude prices started their jolly ride to the top in February last year when simmering discontent in the Middle East erupted into several violent anti-government protests.