Group’s talks in China focus on monetary reforms, as players clash on currency, other issuesNANJING, China (AP) ― Conflicts over exchange rate policy surfaced Thursday at talks by finance mandarins from the Group of 20 leading economies, with both the U.S. Treasury Secretary and French President Nicolas Sarkozy urging greater flexibility as a strategy for avoiding future crises.Despite Beijing’s i

HONG KONG (AFP) ― The world’s highest hotel opened its doors in Hong Kong on Tuesday, housed in the city’s tallest skyscraper and offering unrivalled panoramic views of the world famous Victoria Harbor.Towering some 490 meters above the bustling, chaotic streets of the Southern Chinese city, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is making a grand comeback after temporarily closing in 2008.Visitors peered out of

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The worldwide smartphone market will grow nearly 50 percent this year and Google’s Android will take over as the leading operating system, a technology market research firm said Tuesday.International Data Corp. said smartphone vendors are expected to ship more than 450 million smartphones in 2011 compared to 303.4 million last year.IDC said the smartphone market will grow more t

Toyota restricts orders from U.S. dealers to preserve supply of some parts; Honda to cut outputDETROIT (AP) ― Shortages of auto parts from Japan are hitting North American operations at Honda and Toyota.Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday said it wants its U.S. car dealers to stop ordering more than 200 replacement parts made in Japan because it’s worried about running out of them. And Honda Motor Co. s

SHANGHAI (AFP) ― Chinese computer giant Lenovo has launched its own tablet computer at home as it tries to compete for a share of an increasingly crowded market dominated by Apple’s iPad.The LePad ― powered by Google’s Android software ― was launched in China on Monday at a Chinese-media only event.Lenovo will begin selling LePad directly to Chinese consumers this week through its own retail store

Japan Airlines Corp., once the world’s largest international carrier, is set to emerge from bankruptcy administration this week as a smaller company more reliant on Asian routes and global partners. JAL has scaled back its global network, chopping 49 routes, including Sao Paulo, Amsterdam and Milan, and grounding the last remnants of what was the world’s largest Boeing Co. 747 fleet as it cuts 103

Porsche SE, the sports-car maker that plans to merge with Volkswagen AG, will start 5 billion euros ($7 billion) share sale March 30 to reduce debt. The carmaker’s supervisory and executive boards signed off on the plan to sell shares at 38 euros apiece to current owners, Stuttgart, Germany-based Porsche said in a statement late Sunday. One existing share carries the right to subscribe to 0.75 new

NEW YORK (AP) ― With the Nintendo 3DS, the Japanese video game company is betting that it can once again nudge mass entertainment in a new direction, just as it did nearly five years ago when it launched the Wii with its innovative motion-based controller.This time, though, the competition from other devices is tougher.The handheld 3DS, which goes on sale in the U.S. on Sunday for $250, lets users

At a near-empty B&Q home improvement outlet in Beijing, much of the foot traffic is due to the location of a public toilet next to the entrance ― not the store’s patio furniture or circular saws.It’s a sign of how foreign “do-it-yourself” big-box chains have struggled to attract customers in China, where homeowners have little experience in renovating apartments and prefer to pay low-wage decorators to do it for them.“Do-it-yourself is not popular in China,” Shaun Rein, managing director of Chin

Baidu Inc., owner of China’s most popular online search engine, rose to a record in U.S. trading after reports about new services the company is developing. The company said it is testing Web browsing software for personal computers, following a report earlier this week that it is planning to develop a mobile operating system. Sina Corp., which owns the Twitter-like Weibo in China, also jumped to

Quake halts assembly lines and work at suppliers including paint pigment makerGlobal automakers may lose production of 600,000 vehicles by the end of the month as the earthquake in Japan halts assembly lines and work at suppliers including the maker of a paint pigment. About 320,000 vehicles may have been lost worldwide as of March 24, and manufacturing at plants in North America may be affected w

U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers should review whether to complete a second round of quantitative-easing purchasing due to end in June because of strong U.S. economic data, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said. “The economy is looking pretty good,” Bullard told reporters in Marseille, France, Saturday. “It is still reasonable to review QE2 in the coming meetings, especi

Former Olympic gold medalists and world champions will join South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na for an ice show here in May, Kim’s agency announced Thursday.All That Sports unveiled a list of skaters who will perform alongside Kim, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in ladies’ singles figure skating. The ice show is scheduled for May 6-8 at the Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in southern Seoul.Two-time O

INDUSTRY, California (AP) ― Michelle Wie has been too busy with finals at Stanford to have a problem with the LPGA Tour’s light early schedule.“For me, it didn’t seem so slow because I had finals last week and I’ve been going to school,” Wie said Wednesday, a day before the start of play in the Kia Classic. “So, it’s been really busy for me.”Wie won the Canadian Women’s Open last season for her se

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ―A federal judge has cleared the way for Apple’s ailing leader Steve Jobs to be deposed in a class-action lawsuit charging the iPod maker turned iTunes into a digital music monopoly.U.S. Magistrate Judge Howard Lloyd ruled on Monday that attorneys for the plaintiffs may question Jobs for a total of two hours, but only about an iPod update making RealNetworks digital music inope

SYDNEY (AFP) ― “I want to see glitter and sequins and feathers,” shouts American actress Lily Tomlin as she pumps up revelers ahead of Sydney’s famous and irreverent Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.“I want to see you basking in your own glory!” she yells as the gay pride parade, an annual event which has enjoyed a growing international profile in recent years, kicks off under rainy skies.Comedian Tomlin was a celebrity guest at this month’s Mardi Gras and one of thousands of foreigners joining what h

Travel has become a booming business in China as economic growth has lifted incomesSHANGHAI (AFP) ― A crescendo of voices builds on a typically bustling day in the Shanghai headquarters of Ctrip.com as staff put together hundreds of tourist trips. It is the sound of China’s travel boom.Call after call comes in to Asia’s largest travel call center from mainly Chinese consumers, but also international travelers booking flights, hotels and tour packages for anywhere from Hong Kong to Havana.“You’re

Sony Corp., Japan’s largest exporter of consumer electronics, halted factories that make televisions and cameras, citing difficulties procuring components and materials following the March 11 earthquake. The company suspended operations at 5 plants in central and southern Japan, including in the Aichi and Oita prefectures, starting Tuesday until the end of this month, the Tokyo-based electronics m

Wholesalers paying more for food, suggest higher grocery prices yet to come at storesWASHINGTON (AP) ― Americans are noticing higher prices at the grocery store, and it’s about to get worse.Food prices at the wholesale level rose last month by the most in 36 years. Cold weather accounted for most of it, forcing stores and restaurants to pay more for green peppers, lettuce and other vegetables, but

Japan’s earthquake and nuclear crisis have put pressure on the already fragile global economy, squeezed supplies of goods from computer chips to auto parts and raised fears of higher interest rates.The disaster frightened financial markets in Tokyo and on Wall Street on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei average lost 10 percent, and the Dow Jones industrials fell so quickly after the opening bell that the st