AP Most of the stakes are small, reflecting China Investment Corp's strategy of avoiding politically sensitive acquisitions. But they highlight its growing presence in global markets as it invests a portion of Beijing's $US2.4 trillion ($A2.78 trillion) in foreign reserves. The holdings

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” Rahm Emanuel, US President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, said during the 2008 credit crunch. “It’s an opportunity to do things that you could not do before.” Somebody should phone the White House, and ask if Emanuel could be

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet is leaving a meeting of central bankers in Sydney early to attend an ECB council meeting, an official at the Reserve Bank of Australia said today. It was not known if the ECB meeting was a scheduled event or an extraordinary meeting.

Greece's efforts to restore confidence in its finances have only called attention to its woes, and now investors are fretting debt contagion could spread to other countries, starting with similarly troubled Portugal, but with markets wondering who's next. Some experts believe a bailout may be