Apple may unveil cheaper iPhone
Apple may introduce a cheaper version of its popular iPhone priced at about $300 by the end of the year said analysts with JP Morgan.

The current iPhone, which went on sale about two weeks ago and sold out fast is priced between $500 and $600.

An analyst with JP Morgan said Apple would convert the iPod nano into an iPhone, and would price it at $300 or below. Unlike the current iPhone, it would use the iPod's scroll wheel and would have fewer features and functions than the current version.

However, another JP Morgan analyst cautioned investors that it could be "premature to assume" that Apple will introduce an iPhone nano in the immediate future and a near-term launch would "be unusual and highly risky."

One of the chief complaints about the iPhone has been the price, which also includes a two-year subscription requirement with cellular provider AT&T.

Added to this is a $79 fee plus a $6.95 shipping charge to replace the iPhone battery once it finishes off.
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The world's biggest futures market is created
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) shareholders approved a takeover bid by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Tuesday, clearing the way for an $11.9 bn merger to create the world's biggest futures exchange.

The merger will put an end to more than a century of rivalry between the two institutions, while the resulting exchange will dominate futures trading in the US.

Both CME and CBOT began operations in the 19th century as commodity exchanges, expanding into financial derivatives trading in the 1970s.

Shareholders of both exchanges approved the sale after intense negotiations of four months.
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China's trade surplus rises to all-time monthly high
China's trade surplus rose by 85.5 percent last month to hit an all-time monthly record of US$26.91 billion. Exports last month stood at $103.27 billion and imports were at $76.36 billion, the customs administration said in a statement on its Web site.

China had a trade surplus of $112.53 billion in the first six months of this year, as exports touched $546.73 billion and imports reached $434.2 billion.

But based on previously released figures, June's surplus was 85.5 percent higher than the same month last year and the six-month figure was 83.1 percent larger than the corresponding period last year.

Last month's surplus far exceeded the previous monthly record high of $23.83 billion set in October last year.
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