China Unicom

Apple buys many components for its devices from Chinese suppliers. Now, it's getting more aggressive about selling those devices in the world's largest cell phone market, inking a deal to sell iPhones through No. 1 wireless operator China Mobile, which could substantially boost Apple's earnings.

Talks between Apple and China Mobile didn't go so well back in 2009, but Steve Jobs apparently wants to take another stab at getting his wildly popular iPhone onto the world's largest network. And Apple may be more accommodating about terms now that Google's Android is gaining share globally.

Positive earnings outlooks among some of Japan's major companies continued to boost investor sentiment. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index added 0.4% to close at 10,636. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 0.3% to end the day at 23,484. Markets in China remained closed for Chinese New Year.

Just a day after Apple announced that CEO Steve Jobs was off on his third medical leave since 2004, the stock's already on the rebound. The company smashed its first-quarter earnings expectations, thanks to soaring Asia-Pacific sales.

Asian markets headed higher on Wednesday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng climbed 1.5% to 12,126 and in China the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.6% to 2,821. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index was virtually unchanged at 10,513.

Apple's iPhone 4 went on sale this weekend in China and shelves emptied as over 200,000 units were bought.

Until now, the iPhones sold in China did not have WiFi capabilities. But this is soon to change. A government ban on WiFi has been lifted and as early as next week, China Unicom, Apple's carrier partner, plans to roll out eight-gigabyte iPhones with third-generation service and WiFi throughout the country.

Here's news from the business world and other money matters to watch out for Friday (last updated at 7:55 a.m. Eastern time): Postal Service Posts Loss: While many companies are reporting upbeat quarterly profits this earnings season, the United States Postal Service isn't one of them. The...

China Unicom, with 200 million subscribers, has scrubbed Google search from its phones. Will China Mobile, with 500 million users, be next?

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has emerged as the key force behind the search giant's decision to close its China-based search engine, citing his experience growing up in the Soviet Union. Google may suffer in the long run, but in this case, Brin has put principle above profit.