Zeroing in on empty homes, China throws developers a lifeline

Dismayed by the millions of unsold homes in China's troubled real estate market, the Chinese government is taking matters into its own hands: by buying some properties and turning them into public housing. Like a white knight riding to the rescue of distressed developers, a handful of local governments are snapping up thousands of empty homes at hefty discounts and re-selling them to the country's poorest households.


Quartet of crises threatens Europe's core

Four great crises around Europe's fringes threaten to engulf the European Union, potentially setting the ambitious post-war unification project back by decades.

Bundesbank chief warns of Grexit damage to German budget: Handelsblatt

Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann has warned Angela Merkel's cabinet that a Greek exit from the euro zone would rip billions of euros out of the German budget, German business daily Handelsblatt reported on Sunday, citing government sources.

Rubbing along with robots tackles Abe's double dilemma

Factory worker Satomi Iwata has new co-workers, a troupe of humanoid automata that are helping to address two of Japan's most pressing concerns - a shortage of labor and a need for growth.


Latest News

Oil prices dropped on Friday as a rising U.S. rig count stoked more concerns about global oversupply while an investigation by Chinese regulators into suspected stock market manipulation further unsettled the market.
JetBlue Airways Corp said it began direct charter flights between New York and Havana on Friday, the first major U.S. carrier to fly the route following U.S. President Barack Obama's decision in December to normalize relations with the Communist-ruled island.
Russian President Vladimir Putin must be finding it hard to contain a wry smile as the European Union struggles with Greece's debt problems.
India's dominant services industry contracted for a second month in June as new business again declined, suggesting Asia's third-largest economy is struggling to maintain growth, a survey showed on Friday.
Owners of the HTC Desire Eye smartphone on AT&T with Android 4.0 and higher should finally be getting a total system update to Android 5.0 in the following days, HTC has confirmed.
Airbus (AIR.PA) signed an agreement on Thursday to set up its second plant on Chinese soil in a deal that the European planemaker hopes will lead to lucrative new plane orders.
China stocks fell sharply again on Thursday, fighting off fresh moves by regulators to restore confidence and raising questions about how much more firepower Beijing can bring to bear before a full-scale panic sets in.
U.S. exports of ultra-light crude, also known as condensate, have doubled since the start of the year, with most shipments headed to Europe, according to traders familiar with the deals and data from an energy consultant.
Crude futures hit 3-week lows on Monday as Greece shut its banks and imposed capital controls, causing widespread risk aversion, while Iran looked likely to extend nuclear negotiations with the West to export more of its oil into an oversupplied market.
Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said on Monday it will hand over its display advertising business to AOL Inc and AppNexus Inc, and sell some map-generating technology to ride-hailing app company Uber, as it slims down its money-losing online operations.