On Mar.8, China's largest C2C online auction website taobao.com has announced a new round of actions to crack down on fake products, together with more than 20 brands such as Swiss Army Knives, Adidas, Epson and Lining.

Taobao.com has been dedicated to regulating the online shopping market by fighting against counterfeit products. Only in last year, taobao.com cracked down over 3 million counterfeits.

The Apple announced on Friday that its much-anticipated iPad tablet will go on sale April 3.

Apple said it will first sell models with Wi-Fi links to the Internet on April 3 in the United States, with models that have both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity being available in the country in late April.

All iPad models will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Apple had intended to put its iPad to market in late March.

Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer, gave a keynote speech at the CeBIT trade show in Hannover, Germany, saying "an incredible wave of innovation "happened around cloud computing and cloud services, and Microsoft will take this market transition as an opportunity to redefine and reinvent itself in many ways.

Microsoft will invest 9.5billion U.S.dollars this year in R&D, more than any company in the world and much of them will be injected to cloud services.

State-run Codelco, the world's top copper miner said on Mar.4 that less than 0.5 percent of its annual output was affected by the earthquake, reported Xinhua News Agency.

According to the announcement, a cooper smeltery was under average of the earthquake last week, but resumed operations on Mar.4.

Chile is the world's top copper producer and one of the biggest importers. The output of State-run Codelco last year reached up to 1.7 million tons.

The European Commission would soon present a legislative proposal to introduce a carbon tax across the EU

The European Commission said on Mar.4 it would soon present a legislative proposal to introduce a carbon tax across the European Union (EU) on the use of fossil fuels such as gasoline, natural gas and coal, Xinhuanet reported.

General Motors Co. is planning to recall 1.3 million compact cars due to power-steering problems

According to Xinhua News Agency, General Motors Co. is planning to recall 1.3 million compact cars due to power-steering problems.

The recall covers car models like 2005-2010CHEVROLET COBALT, 2007-2010 PONTIAC G5 and 2005-2006PONTIAC PURSUIT sold in Canada and 2005-2006 PONTIAC G4 sold in Mexico. A remedy is being developed and customers will be notified when the plan is completed, the statement said.

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyota apologized to Chinese Consumers for recall of Toyota cars at a press conference on Mar.1, Xinhuanet reported.

"I would like to express my sincere apologies as the massive global recalls have affected and worried Chinese customers," Toyoda said.

Air China Flight CA 425 took off from Chengdu Airport in Sichuan Province, has arrived in Bangalore International Airport early on the morning of Feb.28. It's the first direct flight linking Chengdu, a booming southwestern IT city to Bangalore, India's "Silicon Valley," Xinhua News Agency reported.

China Three Gorges Project Corporation is shifting its core business into the hydroelectric development of Jinsha River

Reporter learned from the working conference 2010 of China Three Gorges Project Corporation that with approaching to an end of the Three Gorges Project, the company, for which was established 17 years ago, is shifting its core business into the hydroelectric development of Jinsha River, Xinhua News reported on Feb.28.

Air China Ltd. and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. have signed a Framework Agreement to set up an air-cargo joint venture in Beijing

Air China Ltd. and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. have signed a Framework Agreement to set up an air-cargo joint venture in Beijing, China, according to a joint statement by the carriers on Feb.25. Air China Cargo Co., Ltd., (ACC) a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air China will be used as the platform for the joint venture.

Dutch company Spyker Cars said on Feb.23 it has completed its 74-million U.S. dollars purchase of Swedish carmaker Saab Automobile from General Motors.

Spyker also stated that the ownership of Saab has been transferred on the afternoon of Feb.23.

Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker, promised to transform Saab into a sustainable and profitable company.

BMW AG is expected to buy 280 million euros (US$ 417 milion) worth of auto parts from China this year, senior vice president Philip Christian Eller told a forum on Thursday.
The procurement value in 2008 was 50 million euros.
From wires

China should attempt to develop its electric car industry independently and avoid buying component parts from overseas, Chen Qingtai, a researcher with the State Council's development research center, said on Thursday.
Chen said that China should abandon the practice of assembling circuits and other high-value parts produced in other countries before exporting finished goods.

China Probe into Airlines' Fuel Hedging Continues

Danone Says Arbitration Win not to Affect Wahaha Settlement