Finance

●China's commerce minister pledges to promote economic ties with Germany ●Premier Wen boards bullet train as Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail starts operation ●EU leaders meet amid Portuguese political crisis, protests ●Chinese vice president calls for strengthening Party building ●UN chief expects international community to avoid civilian casualties in Libya ●Putin pledges continued economic and political support to Serbia ●Obama says U.S. gov't working to restore New Orleans five years after Katrina ●QE2 policy will work for U.S. economy, but in limited way

Top Biz News

Premier Wen boards bullet train as Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail starts operation: Premier Wen boards bullet train as Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail starts operation

Stocks

Technology stocks lead Wall Street higher: NEW YORK, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Technology stocks led Wall Street higher on Monday after Friday's plunge as investors continued to eye corporate earnings.

CITIC Securities tops underwriters: CITIC Securities Co, the largest listed domestic brokerage, and its subsidiary have topped the list of brokers earning underwriting fees for the first batch of stock listings on the NASDAQ-style growth enterprises board (GEB), which is to be officially launched today.

Funds

Akzo Nobel adds fresh coat of funds in Suzhou: Akzo Nobel NV, the world's largest producer of paints, launched a 23-million-euro (US$33.9 million) plant for protective coatings in eastern China yesterday, to meet rising demand and expand market share.

Pension fund ups stake in Datang: Datang Telecom Technology & Industry Holdings Co, a major developer of China's home-grown 3G standard, received a 2.6 billion yuan investment from the country's national pension fund, sources said.

Foreign Exchange

Dollar rises against most major currencies: U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on financial regulatory reform on Capitol Hill in Washington October 1, 2009.

The million-dollar query: When China's holdings of US Treasuries dipped in April, it was seen as a clear indicator of the nation's uneasy relationship with the world's reserve currency - to sell in the face of a sliding greenback or hold to protect the value of its assets from eroding further.

Gold

Gold further hikes after Greece approves austerity plan: Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange extended rally on Wednesday, as Greek approval of austerity measures could boost the euro against the U.S. dollar, which is helpful in supporting gold price.

Beijingers in gold rush at year end: A couple selects gold products at Caibai Store yesterday. Gold rings and necklaces are popular New Year gifts among local people.

Futures

US stock futures mixed: Traders react as they eye financial charts and data on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday Jan. 2, 2009. Wall Street began the new year optimistically Friday as investors brushed off a weaker-than-expected report on manufacturing and sent stocks higher.

Agriculture futures trade mixed on CBOT: Wheat, soybean futures decline on Chicago Board of Trade; corn futures advance

Banking

Fourth Biggest Bank in California Taken over by Regulators: A California National Bank branch is shown in downtown Los Angeles October 30, 2009. Regulators are expected to seize Los Angeles-based California National Bank on Friday in what would be the fourth-largest U.S. bank failure this year, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing unnamed sources.

ICBC remains most profitable Chinese company: BEIJING, April 1 -- The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest bank by market value, continued to be the country's most profitable company last year as it reaped 129.4 billion yuan (18.95 billion U.S. dollars) of after-tax profits.

Insurance

AIG plans to spin off Asian life insurance unit: NEW YORK – Insurer American International Group Inc. said late Sunday it plans to spin off its Asian life insurance unit in an initial public offering to help repay billions of dollars in U.S. government loans.

Huijin buying into New China Life: Central Huijin Investment Co Ltd, the domestic arm of China's sovereign wealth fund, is buying a 38.8 percent stake in New China Life Insurance Co Ltd (NCL) from Insurance Protection Fund, the latter said in a statement yesterday.

Notes

Nortel to offer $500 million in senior notes: Nortel Networks to offer $100 million in senior unsecured notes

Second Chinese Local Gov't Bonds Launched: The Anhui Provincial Government Wednesday launched bonds worth 4 billion yuan (585.2 million U.S. dollars) on the market, the second batch of 200-billion-yuan in Chinese local government bonds issued this year.

Others

CEOs, famous investors hit hard by market plunge: Here's something that might provide a bit of solace amid the plunging values in your retirement accounts: Warren Buffett is losing lots of money, too. So are Kirk Kerkorian, Carl Icahn and Sumner Redstone.

What crisis? Chinese Women happy to spend: Spurred on by rebates and the trickle down of the country's stimulus package, Chinese housewives, who traditionally control the pockets of their families, are buying the latest fashions, investing in stocks and traveling.

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