Because Economics is Sexy...

he gaze of the world is once more fixed upon China — this time its financial hub of Shanghai — two years after Beijing impressed the world with a memorable Olympic Games.
An expected 70 million visitors from both home and abroad will see a kaleidoscope of landmarks, ideas and visions embodying the theme of the [...]

Continental’s board would meet on Friday and Sunday, and United’s would meet on Friday, the newspaper said on its website.
United declined to comment and Continental did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, a source close to the situation told Reuters that concern over the share-price ratio to be used in a potential stock [...]

Five children have been injured in a school in eastern China after a man attacked them with an iron hammer before burning himself to death.
Wang Yonglai, a farmer, broke down a side gate of the Shangzhuang primary school in Weifang City with his motorcycle before the attack, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
Friday’s attack in Shandong province is [...]

Lawmakers in Belgium on Thursday approved a ban on the wearing of burqas and other Islamic garb that covers a woman’s face but the bill must still be approved by the upper house of parliament before it becomes law.
If the Senate approves it, Belgium would become the first country in Europe to ban the burqa.
The [...]

WASHINGTON (AP) Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling about 50,000 Sequoia sport utility vehicles in the U.S. from the 2003 model year to fix an unexpected slowing of the vehicle.
Toyota said Wednesday the recall would address the vehicle’s electronic stability control system, which helps maintain traction during turning. In some cases, the stability control could activate at low speed [...]

The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that Greece’s debt crisis could spread and threaten the economies of other countries.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn made the comments in Berlin on Wednesday as he tried to persuade Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, to back the terms of a multi-billion dollar rescue package.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has pledged to [...]

While Brazil’s government is planning to have four new nuclear plants operating by 2020, the construction of three new plants might be more feasible, Helder Queiroz, an energy specialist at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, told BNamericas.
“Three new nuclear plants by 2020 would be feasible and positive for the country’s energy matrix,” he said. [...]

The Coast Guard said that London-based BP Plc — the owner of the well who is financially responsible for the cleanup — found a third leak in a well 5,000 feet under the sea off Louisiana’s coast.
“BP has just briefed me of a new location of an additional breach in the riser of the deep [...]

Gordon Brown’s preparations for the final TV debate have been over-shadowed by negative headlines after he called a pensioner he had met “bigoted”.
The Labour leader has apologised to Gillian Duffy from Rochdale, for his comment, which was caught on a microphone.
The BBC’s Nick Robinson said Mr Brown would be keen to move on and focus [...]

South Korea honored 46 sailors on Thursday with a solemn military funeral a month after their warship sank near waters disputed with rival North Korea.
Mourners including President Lee Myung-bak packed a navy base south of Seoul for the ceremony as condolence sirens sounded across the country.
The names of each sailor was read out while Lee, [...]