CHINA

Gold prices Thursday extended last month's rally after positive manufacturing from China to the Europe to the U.S. and Greece appeared close to a settlement with its creditors.

China's gold output reached 360.96 tons in 2011, up 5.9 percent year-on-year, according to the latest statistics from the China Gold Association.

Canadian Solar Inc is scrambling to ramp up production of solar panels to meet an unexpected surge in demand from Europe, Chief Executive Shawn Qu said on Tuesday.

Federal authorities successfully kept a U.S. businessman in jail Wednesday ahead of his trial for trade secret theft, and argued that it was Chinese government representatives who directed him to obtain valuable technology manufactured by chemical giant DuPont.

Qualcomm Inc's quarterly profit easily beat Wall Street forecasts and the wireless chip leader raised its full-year financial targets due to growing demand for smartphones such as Apple Inc's popular iPhone.

On Wednesday, 25 Chinese workers were released from 15 hours of captivity in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. They were kidnapped just yesterday by Bedouin tribesmen, who were demanding the freedom of five relatives. The Chinese workers were returned to their hotel unharmed.

A potentially deadlier form of the bird flu virus poses one of the gravest known threats to humans and justifies an unprecedented call to censor the research that produced it, a top U.S. biosecurity official said on Tuesday.

Crumbling global demand restrained factory output in Asia and most of Europe in January, business surveys showed on Wednesday, putting pressure on policymakers to shore up growth and counter a spreading malaise.

They also demanded that the Hong Kong government do something to reduce the numbers of Mainland Chinese who arrive daily,

The Chinese yuan has been a laggard in Asia in the year so far while other regional currencies, including the Japanese yen, are posting strong gains against the U.S. dollar (USD) and the euro (EUR).

Even as the protests against Apple's workers mistreatment practice are surging incessantly, there are still thousands of Chinese job seekers who are lining up in front of the gates of Foxconn, the company's major product manufacturer in China, hoping that they will be hired to work on iPhone 5 production.

The BSE Sensex rebounded in late trade on Wednesday to post its highest close in 12 weeks, as metal producers and auto makers jumped, although investors were doubtful the rally could be sustained after a rise of nearly 12 percent so far this year.

China began Wednesday streaming live video footage of its pandas around the world via webcam in an attempt to boost awareness of conservation efforts for its beloved but endangered animal ambassadors.

Facebook Inc. will list a preliminary fund-raising goal of $5 billion on Wednesday, which is smaller than some earlier estimates of the offering. The public stock offering will probably value the company at $80 billion to $100 billion. But how did simple status updates and random photos of users help create what will likely be the biggest tech IPO in till date? Let's try to find out here...

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Tuesday were: Molina Healthcare, Brunswick, W.R. Berkley, Manitowoc Co and Gafisa SA. The top aftermarket NYSE losers were: Unisys Corp, Medical Properties Trust, Oasis Petroleum, Skilled Healthcare Group and E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc.

A leading indicator of the state of global industry -- whose biggest dips in the past have come just before the world economy fell into recession -- is dropping like a lead anchor. Some savvy market forecasters are saying this should be sounding alarm bells. But what do the experts who actually work in shipping have to say?

The Columbus, Ind.-based company is expected to earn $424 million, or $2.24 per share, up from 362 million or $1.84 per share in the year earlier period, estimates carried by Thomson Reuters said. Analysts expect revenue of $4.7 billion, up from $4.1 billion in the year earlier period.

India's potential combat jet deal with preferred bidder Dassault Aviation is one of the many the country wants to implement. It plans to spend about $50 billion over the next five years to upgrade its military.

Italian luxury shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo is close to agreeing a deal to pay a record UK rent at its Bond Street store that will break the 1,000 pounds per square foot mark for the first time.

Merck & Co., the second-largest U.S. drugmaker, is projected to report stronger fourth-quarter profit on double-digit growth of key products, an increasing emerging markets presence and further cost reductions.

The Burmese python is wrecking the Florida Everglades ecosystem and have devastated small mammal populations in the area, but its not the only species that is causing harm to the ecosystem.