An investment company controlled by the Shanghai city government will own a majority stake in a planned Disney theme park that won key government approval this week, the People's Daily reported on Thursday.

The Walt Disney has received Beijing's nod to build a theme park in Shanghai, in a major advance for the media and entertainment company in the tough China market ahead of President Obama's first China visit.

The rising trend in Tokyo and Chinese stocks has broken and selling pressure is ahead for the two Asian indexes, Royce Tostrams, technical analyst at Tostrams Groep said Friday. And weakness in Asian markets could affect global stock markets, he warned.

Fear over the recent slump in the Shanghai Composite Index is overblown and the volatility in the region is largely due to the low volumes that come in summer trading, Chris Tinker, equity strategist at ICAP, told CNBC.

After Hurricane Katrina four years ago, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin figured he could get through just about anything. But being held in quarantine in China amid swine flu concerns on what was supposed to be a simple economic development trip?