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SHANGHAI The China release of its iPhone 5 on Friday should win Apple Inc some respite from a recent slide in its share of what is likely already the world’s biggest smartphone market, but its longer-term hopes may depend on new technology being tested by China’s top telecoms carrier. Cupertino, California-based Apple has been in talks about a tie-up with China Mobile for four years. A deal with China’s biggest carrier is seen as crucial to improve Apple’s distribution in a market of 290 million users – which is forecast to double this year. China is Apple’s second-largest and fastest-growing [...]

SHANGHAI The China release of its iPhone 5 on Friday should win Apple Inc some respite from a recent slide in its share of what is likely already the world’s biggest smartphone market, but its longer-term hopes may depend on new technology being tested by China’s top telecoms carrier. Cupertino, California-based Apple has been in talks about a tie-up with China Mobile for four years. A deal with China’s biggest carrier is seen as crucial to improve Apple’s distribution in a market of 290 million users – which is forecast to double this year. China is Apple’s second-largest and fastest-growing [...]

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week to a near four-year low and retail sales rebounded in November, hopeful signs for the struggling economic recovery. Initial claims for state unemployment aid fell for a fourth straight week, dropping 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. They are now at their lowest level since early October, and within a hair of territory last seen in early 2008. Another report suggested consumer spending picked up last month despite fears Washington will fail to avoid harsh austerity measures that could trigger [...]

Like many Americans, David Morris is struggling to make ends meet. He is working two part-time jobs, one at his local grocery store for $ 10 an hour, and — ironically — as an administrative assistant to job-search companies when needed.  At 26, Morris has big plans for his career, to put his Master’s degree in Public Policy and undergraduate degree in economics to work, but almost a year into his job hunt and with no full-time job offers, he is losing hope.  “I’ve been working at least four to five hours a day job hunting in between my part-time [...]

NEW YORK Apple’s market capitalization fell below $ 500 billion on Thursday as shares of the world’s most valuable listed company continued to slide after suffering their worst one-day decline in nearly four years. Shares of Apple Inc fell to as low as $ 518.63 on Thursday, declining nearly 10 percent for the week. But for the year, the stock is still up more than 30 percent. At its peak in September the stock was worth $ 705.07. Earlier in the day, research firm IDC said Apple’s rank in China’s smartphone market, which is set to become the world’s largest [...]

BRUSSELS Two former chief executives of Fortis have been charged in Belgium with misleading financial markets before the group’s collapse. The Belgian-Dutch bank and insurance group was rescued and carved up in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. Jean-Paul Votron and Filip Dierckx become the first directors to face criminal charges in Belgium over banking failures during the crisis, which also forced bailouts for Franco-Belgian Dexia and Belgium’s KBC . The two were charged by investigating Judge Jeroen Burm but no details on the charges have been released and it was not clear when any court appearances might [...]

File photo of a painting by Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi in Hong Kong.Asian art market has typically been driven by savvy investors and China’s nouveau richeChristie’s 2012 annual autumn auction in Hong Kong grossed $ 334 millionWith a market of burgeoning art buyers, artists from the region are making their markHong Kong is now the world’s third largest art market by auction salesHong Kong — Chinese artists are painting the globe red and the regional art market is no longer hostage to fickle buyers, the Asia president of auction house Christie’s told CNN.The Asian art market has typically been driven [...]

STRATFORD, Connecticut – The U.S. defense budget is under intense pressure as automatic spending cuts loom, but Sikorsky Aircraft says the longer-term outlook for military helicopters remains bright given several new programs getting started in the United States and strong overseas demand. Samir Mehta, president of Sikorsky military systems, said in an interview that he is confident that two of the biggest opportunities for his company – a U.S. Air Force competition for new search and rescue helicopters and a U.S. Navy competition for new presidential helicopters – will survive, even if the Pentagon is forced to make additional budget [...]

Vacancy rates for apartment rentals are expected to remain low enough next year to maintain a “landlord’s market” and increasing rents, according to a forecast released Monday by the National Association of Realtors, a trade association. Looking at multifamily housing, NAR expects a vacancy rate of 4% in the fourth quarter of this year to tick down to 3.9% in the fourth quarter of 2013. Rates less than 5% are considered a landlord’s market, according to NAR. On average, apartment rent is expected to rise 4.6% in 2013 after a gain of 4.1% this year, according to NAR. Other types [...]

The improving U.S. housing market is “far from being out of the woods,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday, arguing that part of the problem are lending standards that are overly tight. The Fed, which has focused on mortgage bonds in its latest round of asset purchases, will continue to do what it can to support the housing market, Bernanke said in prepared remarks. A bubble in the housing market was at the core of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and the housing market continues to hamper the world economy. Data in recent months, however, show the sector is [...]