BUSINESS

The yen hit a 20-month low against the dollar Tuesday as Japan's incoming prime minister stepped up pressure on the Bank of Japan to ease monetary policy, while the dollar was buoyed by uncertainty about U.S. budget talks.

Some stores will be open on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24 and Christmas, Dec. 25 for last minute holiday shopping.

The U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open Monday as trading volume is expected to be low ahead of the Christmas holiday.

Crude oil prices declined during the Asian trading hours Monday as concerns about the fiscal cliff negotiations continued to weigh on the sentiment.

Asian markets rose marginally Monday as investors remained cautious with the Christmas period set to be quiet in terms of both economic data and political events.

December began with a major labor-management dispute on American docks, and the month may end the same way.

Economists are optimistic about the housing recovery, provided Washington can strike a deal that keeps mortgage deductions and exemptions intact.

Kimberly A. Scott was putting up Christmas decorations outside of a church Friday morning when she was struck by a bullet and killed.

Germany’s DVB Bank SE has sued India’s aviation regulator –- the Directorate General of Civil Aviation -- and cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines to get two of the planes financed by it deregistered.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Thursday were TFS Financial Corporation, Brightcove Inc, Pactera Technology International Ltd, United Bankshares Inc and Warren Resources Inc. The top after-market NASDAQ losers Thursday were Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc, Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp, Celldex Therapeutics and NuPathe Inc.

Washington can go right or left in the fiscal-cliff talks, but U.S. consumer spending will probably take a hit next year either way.

Most Asian markets fell by week's end as investor sentiment turned negative due to Congressional leaders' lack of progress on reaching an agreement to avert the looming fiscal cliff.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Friday were JinkoSolar Holding Co, E-Commerce China Dangdang, E-House (China) Holdings, Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico and Silvercorp Metals Inc. The top after-market NYSE losers were RPM International, Pinnacle Entertainment, Textron Inc, Avery Dennison Corp and Canon, Inc.

Us Weekly reports that Rob Kardashian broke up with Rita Ora after discovering she cheated on him with Jonah Hill.

Job cuts this year have been driven by a handful of large-scale cuts. So here's a list of the top 10 major layoff announcements we saw in 2012.

2012 was a momentous year in style from the best dressed on the red carpet, to memorable moments, to unexpected sartorial surprises.

The dangerous fiscal deadline isn’t Dec. 31 -– it’s February 2013, when we bump against the debt limit, again.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke coined the term “fiscal cliff.” But he also said politicians need to act since the central bank can't do much.

Facebook will soon require all users to pay a $1 fee to send messages to strangers.

Carnival Corp, JPMorgan Chase, Peabody Energy, EMC Corp, American International Group, Tesoro Corp, Bank of America Corp, Apple Inc, NYSE Euronext and Facebook Inc. are among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Friday.

U.S. stock index futures point to a lower open Friday as investor sentiment was dampened after Republican lawmakers abandoned a vote on an alternative plan aimed at averting the fiscal cliff.

Crude oil prices declined during the Asian trading hours Friday on renewed concern that the U.S. lawmakers may fail to reach a budget deal to avert the $600 billion spending cuts and tax hikes that threaten to push the world’s largest oil consuming nation into a recession early next year.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Thursday were Duke Realty Corp, Red Hat Inc, CarMax, Nike and Navigant Consulting Inc. The top after-market NYSE losers were Accuride Corp, InvenSense, Northern Tier Energy, GFI Group and FelCor Lodging Trust Inc.

U.S. stock index futures plunged Thursday after Speaker John Boehner failed to get his “Plan B” tax bill designed to help avert the "fiscal cliff" through the House.

Almost one-third of China's affluent business people want to put their money overseas, possibly hurting China's local economies.

A new report from Amnesty International condemns Greek authorities for the mistreatment of asylum-seekers.

Sales of armored backpacks have spiked in recent days following Friday’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in which 20 children were killed in Newtown, Conn.

Exchange operator Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) said Thursday it was looking to buy the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange for $8.2 billion.

China's Foxconn decreased its employees' overtime hours, but employees are saying the restricted hours don't let them make enough money.