Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou called for a trade pact with China but said he was not likely to meet his Chinese counterpart soon. The petrochemical, machinery, auto parts and textile industries would be the first beneficiaries of the trade agreement.
German prices fell for the first time in 22 years in July, but analysts said Europe's biggest economy was unlikely to slip into a dangerous deflationary spiral.
Children's Place Retail Stores Inc said it agreed to buy back half the shares its former chairman and chief executive officer owns in the company, and he agreed to withdraw his slate of nominees to the board.
Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant, which makes pigments for products from textiles to cars, swung to a net loss of 61 million Swiss francs in the second quarter, hit by restructuring costs and falling demand and missing forecasts.
Underwear maker Hanesbrands Inc reported a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street estimates as cost-reduction efforts helped offset a sales decline, and forecast third-quarter operating margins similar to second-quarter levels.
When a major swimwear factory in Bangkok found its sales plummeting in the downturn, it laid off some 1,900 workers, almost all of them women.
After having collaborated with the cosmetics brand MAC, Manish Arora is giving a makeover to Nivea Soft cream containers. The Indian designer is redesigning the packaging of this body care product in the colours of her spring-summer 2009 collection.
Jones Apparel Group Inc reported a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit, bolstered by cost cuts and the strong performance of its wholesale jeans business.
Bootmaker Timberland Co posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, hurt by weakness in its casual footwear and apparel business and a stronger U.S. dollar, and sees the back half of 2009 to continue to be challenging.
The arrival of monsoon rains has helped stave off worries about a significant fall in Pakistan's cotton crop, but pest attacks and a strain of virus remain a big concern, an industry official said.
Italian luxury group Tod's turned in a 3.4 percent rise in first-half sales, boosted by demand for its shoes. Tod's, famed for its soft loafers and bags, said in a statement sales were 358.9 million euros ($507.7 million).
Italian eyewear maker Safilo's management will meet creditor banks to discuss what options the debt-laden company has after talks with private equity funds collapsed.
Italian fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo has said its menswear designer Massimiliano Giornetti will also take on women's ready-to-wear.
Apparel maker Hartmarx Corp's sale to private equity firm Emerisque could fall through, the New York Post said. The deal, originally set to close on July 7, has run into trouble over costs related to closing the acquisition.
South Africa's biggest union agreed a wage deal with gold and coal producers, averting a strike in the crucial mining industry and easing political pressure on President Jacob Zuma.