CHINA

Syrian army defectors attacked an intelligence complex on the edge of Damascus early Wednesday, the first such reported assault on a major security facility in the eight-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said.

Foreign direct investment into China climbed nearly 16 percent in the first 10 months of 2011 from a year earlier as foreign investors continued to flock to the world's fastest-growing major economy despite the global economic malaise.

What do the International Monetary Fund, Louis Vuitton and Unilever have in common?

In a recent tour of Capitol Hill and New York City, Alberta Premier Alison Redford stated Tuesday she hopes the Keystone Pipeline will play part of a larger integrated North American energy strategy.

Architects Robert A.M. Stern and Thom Mayne, along with real estate broker Mary Ann Tighe, closed out Tuesday's Zoning the City conference with a wide-ranging discussion that focused on New York, while acknowledging the changing skylines around the world.

Dell, the No. 2 PC maker, reported third-quarter net income rose nine percent, or 49 cents a share, ahead of estimates largely due to stronger sales to enterprise clients.

Upscale apparel and accessories retailers have been consistently outperforming the rest of the retail market, as they've been able to simultaneously roll back discounts and increase sales. A spike in sales for the most expensive of offerings, and at branded outlets, belies a more sinister reason for the surge: growing income inequality.

Yarsagumba has been hailed as the “Himalayan Viagra.”

Bank of America Corp. learned a lesson from its abandoned debit card fee and will work to provide transparency and fair pricing to customers while producing a return for shareholders, Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said on Tuesday.

The phrase 'iPad killer' has been bandied about for so long that one could be forgiven for the mistake of thinking such a device actually exists. As it turns out, the true iPad killer, according to Goldman Sachs analyst Bill Shope, won't be another tablet but the iPad's own prohibitive price tag.

A sharp slowdown in world growth would increase the risk of recession in poorer countries, whose budgets have barely recovered from the last economic slump just two years ago, the IMF said on Monday.

Local governments in China had lent an astounding 10.7 trillion Yuan by of year-end 2010 – or about 27 percent of GDP for that year.

Rising Chinese purchases of platinum jewelry will boost global demand for the metal to a two-year high in 2011, a British consultancy said Tuesday.

Luxury fashion house Burberry has reported consistent double digit revenue growth for the first half of the year. The growth has been reported in retail, wholesale and almost all product categories of the brand.

Canada-listed Sino-Forest Corp said an independent committee found no evidence of fraud at the Chinese timber firm following allegations from short-seller Muddy Waters it had exaggerated its assets, although the committee also said it had been unable to verify the company owned all of its forests.

China's autocatalyst palladium demand growth is expected to slow as the auto sector cuts back on buyer incentives, refiner Johnson Matthey said on Tuesday.

Google Earth has apparently spotted large and unidentified structures in China's Gobi Desert. The satellite images have raised questions over what China could be building in the region, which shares borders with Mongolia and is used for military, space and nuclear programs.

The Chinese state media has accused U.S. President Barack Obama of using Beijing to deflect attention from his country's economic woes. The accusation, made by the Xinhua news agency, comes after Obama hit out at Chinese currency policy.

If all goes well, India's relation with Australia could change forever, as its Prime Minister Julia Gillard is pushing to lift ban on sales of uranium to India.

Hu Xiao, an executioner is China, has stated that his job is usually not very complicated.

Asian shares fell on Tuesday, as a rise in euro zone bond yields reflected lingering doubts about the ability of politicians in Italy and Greece to push through painful reforms to resolve their debt crises and win market confidence.