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●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 ●Apple launches online store in China ●EU leaders adopt landmark reforms on economic governance

Top Biz News

UN chief expects international community to avoid civilian casualties in Libya: United Nations Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon talks to the media after a Security Council meeting on the current situation in Libya at the UN headquarters in New York, March 24, 2011. Ban Ki-moon on Thursday said that he expects the international community to continue to work hard to avoid civilian casualties and collateral damage in Libya.

Auto

GM to sell Saab to Dutch automaker Spyker: Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller (R) attends a press conference with Saab CEO Jan-Aake Jonsson after they announced that Spyker would buy Saab from General Motors in a deal worth 400 million U.S. dollars in Stockholm January 26, 2010.

Geely may complete Volvo purchase by May: Zhejiang Geely Holdings, the parent company of carmaker Geely Automobile, aims to sign an agreement to buy Ford's Volvo unit by Feb 8 and complete the transaction in May, according to media reports yesterday.

Energy

Britain's BP, Chinese oil firm win Iraq deals: BAGHDAD – British energy giant BP and China's CNPC International Ltd were unveiled Tuesday as the first foreign firms in decades to win contracts to invest and develop in Iraq's war-battered energy sector.

Power firms bleed from high costs: Workers check power transmission lines in Guangzhou. China's power consumption is expected to rise 7 percent this year, according to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Environment

Hawaii sees 40% drop in tourists due to financial crisis: Photo taken on Nov. 23, 2008 shows a scattering of visitors at Waikiki Beach of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. The former bustling resort of Hawaii witnessed a 40 percent decrease in the number of travelers this year due to the ongoing global financial crisis.

Grids Pushed to Tap Clean Power: Technicians assemble a solar-powered street lamp in Jing'an county of Jiangxi province on December 11. Official statistics showed China as a leader in hydro and solar power usage last year.

Construction

Airbus A320 assembled in Tianjin: Three Airbus A320 are assembled at general assemble workshop in north China's Tianjin municipality, on Dec. 23, 2008. It is estimated that the first plane will be painted in early 2009.

Pudong gets C919 final assembly line: Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC), which is in charge of the indigenous C919 passenger airplane program, announced yesterday that it would set up its final assembly line in Shanghai's Pudong New District.

Sci & Tech

Ford shows off 2011 Explorer in North America: CHICAGO, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn joined Ford Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and other Ford officials unveiling the 2011 Ford Explorer Monday morning at Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.

Turning off online addiction: Parents in China can pull the plug on their kids' online gaming by asking game operators to end services for minors, according to a program launched over the weekend by the culture ministry and six major online gaming companies.

Agriculture

Retaliation against US soy farms is unlikely: The US government gives large amounts of subsidies to its farmers and dumps soybeans in China, Chen Dongqi, vice head of the macroeconomic institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a recent conference.

Down on the Farm: China is encouraging the transfer of usage rights for arable land in the countryside to boost farm production.

IT

HP's quarterly results beat expectations: HP's revenue reached 33.3 billion U.S. dollars in the company's 2010 fiscal fourth quarter ended on Oct. 31, up 8 percent from the same period a year earlier.

China Telecom to sell BlackBerry: China Telecom announced Monday that it has signed an agreement with Research In Motion (RIM) to sell BlackBerry handsets in the Chinese mainland.

Mining

Seeks more seabed licences off Japan: Neptune Minerals plc, which has advanced marine licences for seafloor massive sulphide mineral deposits off New Zealand, has now stepped up activity on similar seabed mineral targets off Japan.

China denies claims of rare-earth stockpiling: An official denied reports Tuesday that China will ban the export of rare-earth minerals used in clean energy products and superconductors, in a move to ease deepening strain in the international community.

Metals

U.S. Move to Launch Probe into Steel Pipes Opposed: China resolutely opposes U.S. move to start anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into seamless steel pipes imported from China.

Steelmakers Rattled by Price Shift: A worker at Liaoyang Iron and Steel Company, Liaoning province. There are 1,200 steel mills in China, but only 112 have licenses to import iron ore at long-term prices. Unlicensed firms have to buy iron ore from the spot market.

Transport

Toyota to recall 740,000 vehicles in U.S. over brake fluid leak: CHICAGO, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., a U.S. sales unit of Toyota Motor Corp., has recalled 740,000 vehicles due to concerns over brake fluid leakage that could hurt braking performance.

China to become DHL's biggest express service market: China is set to become DHL's largest market in the world in terms of express service volume after the company moves out of the United States, Wu Dongming, managing director of DHL-Sinotrans, a joint venture of DHL and Sinotrans, said on Tuesday.

Others

Fannie, Freddie plan to aid mortgage banks: report: U.S. government-controlled mortgage finance companies Freddie Mac (FRE.N) and Fannie Mae (FNM.N) are working on a program to help independent mortgage banks get access to short-term credit needed to make home loans, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Housing sales up as policy nears end: Beijingers and expats are buying up properties this month before the possible end of a citywide stimulus housing policy.

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