India approved a plan on Wednesday to allow foreign investors to settle, emulating a policy in countries such as the United States and Singapore to woo investment from abroad.

Gold slid to a near five-week low on Monday after comments from top Federal Reserve officials fuelled speculation that US interest rates would rise sooner rather than later, weighing on the dollar.

The European Commission on Monday insisted talks on a huge US free trade deal were on track, rejecting German claims that irreconcilable differences had left the deal dead in the water.

India's economic growth likely lost some momentum in the April-June quarter on cutbacks in domestic and global demand, a Reuters poll showed.

Japan's Sharp Corp is hoping to team up with its domestic rival Japan Display Inc in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays to catch up with South Korean manufacturers, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.

Oil fell towards $49 a barrel on Monday, pressured by high output from Middle East Opec members and as a stronger US dollar weighed on commodities.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission paid a BHP Billiton insider $3.75 million for detailed information in an investigation into alleged bribery of Asian and African officials, the Australian Financial Review reported on Monday.

When hackers penetrated a secure authentication system at a bitcoin exchange called Bitfinex earlier this month, they stole about $70 million worth of the virtual currency.

China officially launched a new multi-billion dollar jet engine conglomerate with almost 100,000 employees at the weekend, as Beijing seeks to become an aerospace power and compete with the likes of Rolls Royce and General Electric.

The Reserve Bank of India said on Monday its focus remains on bringing down consumer inflation to 4 percent, while managing cash conditions and cleaning up the banking sector of soured assets would be its other priorities.

China's biggest carmaker Shanghai Auto Industry Corporation (SAIC) has reported a rise in net profit of more than six percent in the first half on stronger sales.

Nepal's trade deficit grew to a record $6.5 billion in the financial year to mid-July, an increase of 2 percent, as political upheaval, a blockade of its border with India and the lack of industrial development all weighed on foreign trade.

The union representing most Canadian autoworkers has voted for a strike mandate, it said on Sunday, bolstering its position in contract negotiations with the Big Three US carmakers.

Surprisingly strong growth in France supported stable euro zone private business activity during August but factories could face a tougher September as new order growth stumbled, surveys showed on Tuesday.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, with Goldman Sachs warning that August's price rally had been overdone and that a proposed oil production freeze at current near-record levels would not help rein in an oversupplied market.

Indian gold refiners just months ago were ramping up capacity and struggling to secure enough ore from miners. Now, they are suspending operations as a surge in smuggled bullion wipes out wafer thin margins.

Microsoft apps such as Office and Skype will be installed on Lenovo mobile devices powered by Android software under the terms of a collaboration announced late Monday.

Japanese manufacturing activity showed signs of steadying in August as output rose for the first time in six months, in a tentative sign that the economy may be recovering from a slump earlier this year, a private survey showed on Tuesday.

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Tuesday it will start selling its third smartphone powered by the company's own Tizen mobile operating system in India next week.

German car giant Volkswagen said on Tuesday it had reached a deal with suppliers to begin deliveries again after a stoppage that forced the group to halt production at several plants.