Hu Jintao, China's president, mounted a vigorous defence of the country's role in combatting the global economic crisis, promising further increases in domestic consumption and a reduction in the economy's reliance on exports

KUALA LUMPUR: Most Asian stocks declined led by BHP Billiton Ltd and PetroChina Co while bonds climbed as oil prices fell on concern the global economic recovery will falter.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission (SC) has entered into the largest settlement in its history involving some RM31 million, said SC Chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar.

The US president's plan to communicate directly with young Chinese, one of the centrepieces of his first visit to China, is uncertain as the two governments held last-minute talks over the format

Tokyo's equity markets have long been marked by a gulf between how domestic and foreign investors view events, a stance that has now seeped into the arena of Japanese government bonds