Global business China notched record imports of oil and iron ore in July, amid rising demand for exports. China imported 4.6 million barrels of oil a day in July -- equivalent to over half of Saudi Arabia's daily output -- and 58.1 million tons of iron ore.
America claimed an "important step" had been taken toward opening market access for American goods in China after the World Trade Organization published a ruling that Beijing must lift restrictions on imports of copyrighted films, DVDs and books. Distribution of entertainment products is limited to state enterprises, which the United States says increases the demand for pirated goods.
Britain reached an accord with Liechtenstein in which the tiny country's banks will be required to ask their British clients if their tax records are in order and give them the chance to pay back taxes in return for lighter penalties. In April the G20 declared a clampdown on tax havens.
A judge postponed a decision to approve Bank of America's proposed deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which settles allegations that the bank misled investors about executive bonuses at Merrill Lynch. BoA took over Merrill during last September's financial maelstrom; the bonuses sparked a furor when they came to light. The judge said he had "continued misgivings" about the settlement, in which BoA neither admits nor denies wrongdoing.
Royal Bank of Scotland lost $1.7 billion after taxes in the first half of the year as impairment charges on toxic loans soared. ING, a Dutch bank that has racked up huge losses, reported a small quarterly profit, its first in a year.
Toshiba said it would start manufacturing Blu-ray disc players. Until last year the company had championed the rival HD DVD camp in the "format wars" against Sony's Blu-ray standard for control of the high-definition film-disc business. Blu-ray was eventually adopted by the big Hollywood studios.
A report from the OECD found that mobile-phone charges among its 30-member countries were highest in Canada, Spain and the United States and lowest in Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden. Although mobile charges fell across the board, on average, prices remained high in North America, where users often have to pay to receive a call.
The price of sugar rushed to 28-year highs as bad weather in Brazil and India, the biggest producers, affected crops. Food companies in the United States said they could "virtually run out" of the commodity and warned of job cuts unless the government eased restrictions on imports of tariff-free sugar. America and Europe subsidize their sugar producers.
Political economy France and Germany took observers and markets by surprise by notching small increases in economic growth for the second quarter, and so exiting recession. GDP in the 16-country euro area declined by 0.1 percent, and in the wider European Union by 0.3 percent.
Hundreds of people died in Taiwan in floods and mudslides caused by Typhoon Morakot. But hundreds of others who had been missing were found safe days after the disaster struck.
In Iran, the authorities admitted that 4,000 people had been detained during mass protests that followed the disputed June 12 presidential election. An opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi, claimed that both female and male prisoners suffered brutal and repeated sexual torture.
The first party congress for 20 years held by the Palestinians' Fatah Party ended with the election of a majority of new people to its most important executive committee. The party has been beset by cronyism and corruption. Delegates hope that the new leadership will reform Fatah and make it more competitive with its Islamist rival, Hamas.
