BEIJING (AFP) -- China could face an economic crisis if it does not implement major reforms in the next 20 years, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday, citing a report by the World Bank and Chinese government researchers.The “China 2030” report -- to be released Monday -- warns economic growth is at risk of a sharp and sudden slowdown, which could trigger a severe downturn in the world’s second-largest economy, the paper said.The report makes a number of recommendations for restructuring China’

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao is seen signaling next month that curbing pollution, inequality and the risk of financial instability eclipse the benefits of faster economic growth, a survey of analysts indicated. Wen will target an expansion of less than 8 percent in his report to the National People’s Congress in Beijing on March 5, the equivalent of the U.S. President’s State of the Union address, according to 8 of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The median estimate of 7.5 percent compar

PALO ALTO (AP) ― Net income at Hewlett-Packard Co. fell in its first full quarter under CEO Meg Whitman, as the company confronted weak consumer sales and supply shortages due to flooding in Thailand.Whitman described a company in transition Thursday, but she identified goals, which include improving internal procedures and reducing costs to free up money for investments in growing areas. She said HP sees opportunities in security services, information management and Internet-based systems known

NEW YORK (AFP) ― U.S. bookseller Barnes & Noble unveiled a new version of its Nook tablet computer Tuesday, a device with the same $199 price tag as Amazon’s Kindle Fire.The 7-inch Nook Tablet also has eight gigabytes of memory like the tablet released by online retail giant Amazon in November.Apple’s cheapest iPad costs $499. Barnes & Noble released a $249 Nook Tablet with 16 gigabytes of memory in November.Barnes & Noble also said it was slashing the price of its Nook Color electronic book rea

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration is proposing to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent, and to seek an even lower effective rate for manufacturers, a senior administration official says.In turn, corporations would have to give up dozens of loopholes and subsidies that they now enjoy. Corporations with overseas operations would also face a minimum tax on their foreign earnings.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday was to detail aspects of President Barack

A Chinese company fighting Apple Inc. over its use of the iPad trademark in China took its complaints to a Shanghai court Wednesday, though it says it is willing to talk about a settlement.Shenzhen Proview Technology claims ownership over the iPad name. Apple says it bought the rights to the name in China and other countries in 2009, but that Proview failed to transfer the rights in mainland China as agreed.Proview accuses Apple of acting dishonestly when it bought rights to the iPad name from i

China will overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest trading nation by 2016, as intra-Asian commerce and rising demand from emerging markets boost shipments, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.Trade in China and the Asia-Pacific will grow at an annualized pace almost twice as fast as the world average over the next five years, driven by shipments within the region and expanded ties with Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, HSBC said in a global trade report issued Tuesday.Demand from trad

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― The International Monetary Fund has offered to contribute 13 billion euros ($17.3 billion) so far to a second Greek bailout package, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said here Tuesday.That sum would come on top of 10 billion euros in IMF loan aid left over from an initial Greek rescue plan reached in May 2010, after eurozone finance ministers agreed to another rescue program worth 130 billion euros from public creditors.“The IMF has earmarked a possible sum of 13 billi

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ― The European Central Bank said Monday that it made no purchases of government bonds last week as it put on hold its controversial program to lower borrowing costs for indebted countries.The purchases had already dwindled to a negligible 59 million euros ($78 million) the week before that.The bank has been buying bonds from other investors in the secondary market in an effort to push down borrowing costs, particularly for Italy and Spain, which are under pressure from th

BRUSSELS (AP) -- After more than 12 hours of talks, the countries that use to euro reached an agreement early Tuesday to hand Greece (euro) 130 billion ($170 billion) in extra bailout loans to save it from a potentially disastrous default next month, an European Union diplomat said.The euro surged a

LONDON (AP) ― A dozen European Union leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and Italian Premier Mario Monti, called Monday for an open-markets strategy to stimulate growth and jolt the region out of its economic doldrums.The 12 leaders sent an open letter to EU leaders Herman van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso as eurozone finance ministers met Monday to discuss a 130 billion euros ($170 billion) bailout for Greece in exchange for harsh austerity measures.Their intervention comes