BUSINESS

China's $410 billion sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. is set to receive additional funding of up to $50 billion, two sources said, a step that could help it move quickly to buy overseas assets, especially in Europe.

Signs of renewed momentum in the giant U.S. economy boosted European stocks and supported the euro on Friday, but any gains in holiday-thinned markets are likely to prove short-lived with concerns about the euro zone debt crisis undiminished.

Fresh signs the giant U.S. economy is gaining momentum drove major world stock markets and the euro higher on Friday, with activity likely to be thin in the last session before the Christmas holiday.

The economy is gaining momentum and should push through next year with only a few bruises despite an almost certain European recession and slower global growth.

Asian stocks rose more than 1 percent and U.S. index futures also gained on Friday, as signs of a strengthening economy in the United States encouraged a year-end bounce for riskier assets.

China's $410 billion sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. is set to receive additional funding of up to $50 billion, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.

Respected commodities hedge fund BlueGold has veered from its energy-focused strategy, betting half its money on equities and other trades that are worrying investors as it turns in its first down year.

Mozilla Firefox has earned about $900 million in a deal with Google. The agreement will ensure that Google remains the default search engine in the Mozilla Firefox web browser for three years.

Will Citizens United doom New York City's tough campaign finance laws at the U.S. Supreme Court?

A 2010 inspection by the U.S. audit industry watchdog faulted accounting giant Ernst & Young for a range of audit issues, including not getting enough supporting evidence and problems with testing the fair value of financial instruments.

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits hit a 3-1/2 year low last week, bolstering views the economy was gaining momentum, even though third-quarter growth was revised down.

GMI's annual CEO Pay Survey 2011 was released on Dec. 15, naming 10 of the highest paid CEO for 2010. See what they look like and how much they made.

As Wall Street traders cheered positive jobs data on Thursday, they seemed to ignore layoffs and bonus cuts on their own trading floors that will hurt growth in the broader U.S. jobs market in the coming months, TrimTabs Chief Executive Charles Biderman said.

Wall Street may not be on Santa Claus's list for presents this year.

The dangers facing Europe's financial system have continued to worsen, Europe's recently created super-watchdog, the European System Risk Board , said on Thursday, as it urged the euro zone to get its new rescue fund up and running.

Stocks rose in another thinly traded session on Thursday, putting the S&P on track for its third straight advance after data pointed to ongoing improvement in the labor market and reinforced expectations for a rally into the end of the year.

A reverend, a tiler, an academic, an environmental campaigner and a former investment banker are trading verbal blows in a bright, modern church hall in south London in December.

Micron Technology Inc's shares jumped 15 percent on Thursday after investors looked past limp quarterly results and focused on a potential 2012 rebound in long-stagnant memory chip demand and prices.

Deutsche Boerse won U.S. antitrust approval to buy NYSE Euronext on Thursday in a $9 billion deal that has hit serious antitrust headwinds in Europe.

Stocks edged higher on Thursday, putting the benchmark S&P 500 index on track for its third straight advance after data pointed to ongoing improvement in the labor market and reinforced expectations for a rally into the end of the year.

Consumer sentiment improved in December to its highest level in six months as Americans felt better about the economy's prospects for the year ahead, a survey released on Thursday showed.

Done deal. Both Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayer Michael Bloomberg have signed a controversial bill that will allow livery cabs to pick up passengers off the street throughout the five boroughs. Bloomberg alluded to the coming deal in a press conference on Wednesday where he celebrated the 50 millionth tourists to visit New York City.

With governments laboring under too much debt and banks hobbled by too little capital, 2012 is shaping up as another year of hard slog for Europe's economy that could yet test the single currency to destruction.

After two years of turmoil that has shattered confidence in the economics and politics of European monetary union, it would be rash in the extreme to suggest an end is in sight.

If you needed a clue that Chicago's Eye Spy Optical does brisk business in late December - the time when many healthcare flexible spending accounts expire for American employees - just take a look at its storefront in the city's Lakeview neighborhood.

Sigh. A lot of people are predicting more of the same for 2012: Another year of stock market volatility, high unemployment, banking industry upheaval, weak housing and more talk about Facebook, mobile commerce, 401 plans and taxes.

Remember way back in January, when Washington was arguing about taxes, homeowners were having trouble getting refinanced and investors were dumping gold? Hmmm...that makes it seem like 2011 was an uneventful year.

In September, German bank Eurohypo and developer Forest City Enterprises Inc were negotiating a $65 million loan for 9 MetroTech, part of a 11-building office campus in Brooklyn, New York.

The European Central Bank's offer of cheap long-term cash is an attempt to prevent a rapid bank deleveraging shock rather than U.S.-style money printing that will filter through to the real economy and leach into other markets.