A. Schulman Inc.'s fiscal first-quarter earnings climbed to $10 million, or 36 cents a share, from $2.36 million, or 9 cents a share, a year earlier, helped in part by an increase in tonnage and foreign currency translation. Excluding items, earnings were 39 cents a share for the latest quarter. The Akron, Ohio, plastic compounds supplier said sales for the quarter ended Nov.30 increased 12% to $496.6 million from …

… Microsoft China, has told local media that Microsoft China will recruit 1000 engineers in the new fiscal year and this would bring its total employee number in China to 6000.

… if they decide to acquire American companies; top billionaires in China and their companies are discussed; photos

… Robert M. Gates planned to press for a more open dialogue on China’s military while discussing ways to build trust and cooperation.

Secretary Gates says he does not see China as military threat to US, but some things worry …

Controlled by China’s government, Citic confirmed it had discussed bidding for a stake in Bear Stearns, which is seeking to rebound from its heavy credit-related losses.

… a visit to Belarus.

… Wall Street Journal reported. Alibaba's chairman, Jack Ma, announced that the company is discussing a possible deal with Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer by revenue, which currently holds a 0.3% stake in Alibaba. The company is expected to join forces with Yahoo Japan and Softbank and have already unveiled a trial version of Japanese-language software. Company executives also mentioned India as a potential target for …

… adoption and therefore requires either complementary or replacement technology. This is where iSCSI plays a vital role.

… of its kind that China has established with another country at the defense-ministry level.

… Anhui Province have been penalized for taking bribes from an organized crime gang, the local disciplinary commission said yesterday.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- It's hardly surprising that Exxon Mobil forecasts continued steady growth in petroleum demand for decades to come.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The chances of getting bumped from a flight worsened in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, according to figures released Monday by the Department of Transportation, which is considering raising the maximum amount airlines pay to compensate customers for being bumped from overbooked flights.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Anadarko Petroleum Corp. reported late Monday third-quarter net income of $503 million, or $1.07 a share, down from $1.39 billion, or $2.99 a share, a year ago. The latest results include $343 million in net gains on asset sales compared with $3 million a year ago. Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 fell 13% to $3.03 billion from $3.51 billion. Analysts polled by …

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Airline shares ended lower Monday, flattened by a stock market sell-off that also pressured crude prices. In after-hours trading, major carriers reported mixed results for October traffic.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Among the companies whose shares are likely to see active trading during Tuesday's session are Valero, Molson Coors, Avis, and Weight Watchers.

Visiting Chinese Premier Wen J …

SAN FRANCISCO (Marketwatch) -- Activision Inc. swung to a profit amid better-than-expected sales for the September quarter as video-game fans continued to snap up copies of its popular "Guitar Hero" franchise.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Kindred Healthcare Inc. said late Monday it swung to a third-quarter loss of $9.1 million, or 23 cents a share, from a profit of $2.9 million, or 7 cents a share, a year ago. The latest quarter contained one-time items that reduced the company's net income by 40 cents a share, Kindred said. Revenue fell to $1.01 billion from $1.02 billion a year ago. Analysts surveyed by …

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- UAL Corp. carrier United Airlines Monday reported October traffic fell 0.6% to 9.61 billion revenue passenger miles from 9.67 billion revenue passenger miles. A revenue passenger mile equals one passenger flown one mile. The carrier's October load factor, or portion of available seats filled, edged up to 81.1% from 80.6% a year ago, United said. Capacity at the airline slid …

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Sun Microsystems Inc. shares slipped more than 2% during Monday's evening trading session after the computer server and software maker reported quarterly revenue that came in shy of analyst expectations.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Charles River Laboratories International Inc. reported Monday it swung to a net profit of $42.8 million, or 62 cents a share, in the third quarter from a net loss of $16.6 million, or 24 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue in the quarter totaled $314 million, up from $264.7 million a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had forecast earnings of 62 …

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Caterpillar Inc. said Monday it will buy forest unit assets of Blount International Inc. and Pioneer Machinery Inc. Blount said it will receive $77.3 million for its assets, resulting in a boost to annual earnings of 21 cents to 25 cents a share. In the other transaction, six Caterpillar dealers agreed to buy the Pioneer assets.

… its kind that China has ever established with another country at the defense ministry level.

… its kind that China has ever established with another country at the defense ministry level.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Sun Microsystems Inc. on Monday said it swung to a fiscal first-quarter profit from a loss a year ago as sales showed a slight increase and gross margins at the computer server and software maker continued to rise.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks declined Monday following the lead of the broader market, which lost about 100 points in the first few minutes of trading.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Hong Kong Monetary Authority apparently got unexpected -- and perhaps not entirely welcome -- help from China's premier in its recent campaign to maintain its currency's peg to the U.S. dollar amid massive inflows of capital into the territory.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures fell on Monday, down nearly $2 a barrel from Friday's highest close on speculation the economy of the U.S., the world's largest oil consumer, may be dragged down by the credit crisis.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures pulled back from Friday's highest-ever close on Monday on speculation that the economy of the U.S., the world's largest oil consumer, may be dragged down by the credit crisis. Sweet, light crude for December delivery closed down $1.95, or 2%, to 93.98 a barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, Nymex crude finished at a record closing price of …