MARKETS

Credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings said that a study of 308 U.S. companies showed that capital expenditures would rise by an average of 3.1% this year as against 2009, reflecting a stabilizing economic conditions.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Wednesday dismissed speculations the ongoing Greek crisis may hit Asia and said Asia's government-issued bonds appear to post positive growth from low debt levels and developing economies. It said Asia would perform better compared with its Western counterparts which are weakened by the debt default crisis in Greece.

Small- and medium-based (SMB) companies are utilizing social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, blogs, YouTube, Twitter and others, for their business operations. IT marketers have discovered the power of these social media to generate sales, a report said.

East Timor turned down Australian-based Woodside, an oil gas producer to export gas from the Timor Sea that would have become the world's first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) platforms and could have put the multibillion-dollar Greater Sunrise's LNG partnership in jeopardy.