South Korea's economy grew at its slowest pace for two years in the final quarter of last year as Europe's debt crisis took its toll on exports and consumer spending, the central bank said on Thursday.

Asian stock markets were mostly higher Thursday after the U.S. central bank pledged to keep interest rates low for another three years to nurture the country's stubbornly slow economic recovery.

European stock markets rallied Monday on strong bank shares, and the euro gained against the dollar as investors hoped for a firm outcome to a Greece debt deal following an upbeat German bond auction.

Senior Iranian lawmakers stepped up threats Monday that Islamic Republic warships could block the Persian Gulf's oil tanker traffic after the latest blow by Western leaders seeking to rein in Tehran's nuclear program: A punishing oil embargo by the European Union that sharply raises the economic stakes for Iran's defiance.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama, in the first glimpse of his keynote State of the Union address next week, said Saturday it would focus on manufacturing jobs, energy and education, alongside an election themed message for a "return to American values." "I'm going to lay out a blueprint for an American economy that's built to last," Obama said in a campaign video sent to supporters. "And most importantly, a return to American values - of fairness for all, and responsibility from all. ...

Vilified by the Republicans who want his job, President Barack Obama says he will stand before the nation Tuesday night determined to frame the election-year debate on his terms, promising that his State of the Union address will offer an economic blueprint that will "work for everyone, not just a wealthy few."

Asian markets mostly rose Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street amid positive US economic data and International Monetary Fund plans to boost its coffers for crisis fighting.

IBM Corp. reports its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday after the market closes at a time of growing worries about how the world's ongoing economic woes are affecting the technology sector.

SEOUL - Samsung Group, which includes Samsung Electronics Co, said on Tuesday it is raising its 2012 investment to a record $41.4 billion, underscoring the widening gulf between the dominant South Korean conglomerate and its faltering competitors. Best known for making massive investments in new technologies ahead of rivals, Samsung is now banking on logic chips and OLED displays to repeat its roaring success in flash chips, computer memory chips and LCD flat-screens, even as a gloomy global economic and IT spending outlook forces its peers to be conservative in spending. ..

South Korea's economy has widened its gap with North Korea, with gross national income about 40 times bigger than its communist neighbour, according to official figures.