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European stock markets and the euro extended two months of gains on Thursday as Greece edged closer to a bailout deal and investors bet a brace of central bank meetings would offer further support for the move into riskier assets.

Trading in shares of Alibaba.com Ltd was halted on Thursday pending an announcement regarding its parent, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, which reportedly plans to buy back the 40 percent stake in it held by Yahoo Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) has purchased mortgage bonds valued at $6.2 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, previously owned by the insurance giant American International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG), until its government bailout in 2008.

Wall Street has been lashing out against the Volcker rule since it was proposed, but a senior Goldman Sachs executive said on Wednesday the trading restriction might actually help the investment bank's profitability.

Gold prices have been too volatile to play a reliable role as a hedge against inflation, a study of financial assets over the past 112 years showed on Tuesday.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last couple of years, you'll know that companies big or small have been constantly axing jobs across the board. Which companies are axing jobs in 2012?

Federal prosecutors focus for first tiFederal prosecutors focus for first time on overseas bank in $1.2bn tax fraud investigation into offshore accounts.me on overseas bank in tax fraud allegations.

The United States indicted Wegelin, the oldest Swiss private bank, on charges that it enabled wealthy Americans to evade taxes on at least $1.2 billion hidden in offshore bank accounts, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

Despite the determination of President Obama to take Wall Street to court for the financial crisis, prosecutors face an uphill struggle to win more convictions like the two they scored on Wednesday against former Credit Suisse Group AG mortgage traders.

European shares steadied after hitting a six-month high on Thursday as strong gains in miners on merger talks between Xstrata (XTA.L) and Glencore (GLEN.L) were offset by a sell-off in defensives, with Unilever (ULVR.L) down on poor outlook.

The job cuts, if they go through, would be part of thousands of other cuts which financial institutions plan to make in the near future.

Learn about Glencore and Xstrata Plc, which are expected to announce a plan to combine as early as this week.

A former Credit Suisse employee surrendered to the FBI on Wednesday on criminal charges, an FBI spokesman said, in a U.S. government probe on writedowns on subprime mortgage derivatives at the height of the financial crisis.

U.S. authorities are preparing to charge four former Credit Suisse Group AG employees with criminal and civil fraud related to write-downs on subprime mortgage derivatives at the height of the financial crisis, sources familiar with the matter said.

U.S. authorities are preparing to charge former Credit Suisse Group AG employees with criminal and civil fraud related to write-downs on subprime mortgage derivatives at the height of the financial crisis, sources familiar with the matter said.

U.S. authorities are preparing to charge former Credit Suisse Group AG employees with criminal and civil fraud related to write-downs on subprime mortgage derivatives at the height of the financial crisis, sources familiar with the matter said.

The Columbus, Ind.-based company is expected to earn $424 million, or $2.24 per share, up from 362 million or $1.84 per share in the year earlier period, estimates carried by Thomson Reuters said. Analysts expect revenue of $4.7 billion, up from $4.1 billion in the year earlier period.

Amazon.com Inc's Quidsi unit may be getting into sporting goods, challenging retailers in this niche, including Dick's Sporting Goods, Hibbett Sports and Cabela's, analysts at Credit Suisse said Monday.

Weakness in banks and commodity stocks dragged Britain's leading share index lower on Monday as the protracted search for a Greek bond deal and concerns about economic growth kept investors nervous.

Gold eased on Monday, under pressure from a weaker euro, but was off session lows and still within sight of last week's seven-week highs, supported by evidence of improved investor demand.

Copper fell on Monday, pulling back from a four-month high as demand prospects dimmed amid a lack of progress in talks to avoid a disorderly Greek default, tempting investors to cash in on January's rally.

The breakup of Switzerland's oldest bank Wegelin on Friday shows the need to settle a dispute with U.S. authorities over tax cheats hiding cash in secret Swiss accounts, the finance minister said on Saturday.

The U.S. economy is not robust by any means, but the recent manufacturing-driven recovery, if tepid, is finally beginning to erase memories of the disappointing slowdown in 2011. On the wings of the recent gains, growth in most sectors of the economy is likely to continue - and maybe even pick up momentum towards the end of the year.

With worries about the debt crisis in Europe and high unemployment in the United States drawing the public's attention, the sliding value of corporate pension funds has largely gone unnoticed.

Silver is currently on a bullish cycle and the price of bullion is likely to rise from current levels around $32 per ounce to $50 and beyond this year, Swiss banking giant UBS said in a note to clients Tuesday.

Chevron, the second largest integrated U.S. oil company, is expected to report stronger fourth-quarter earnings on dramatically higher crude oil prices and production that offset breakeven margins on refining and marketing operations as well as reduced output of products like gasoline.

European stocks hit their highest close since early August on Monday, with euro zone banks gaining sharply following a report that France and Germany were calling for a relaxation of global bank capital rules to prevent a credit crunch.

Coach Inc., the New York-based luxury clothing and accessories retailer, is expected to report a 15 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit on strong sales of handbags and women's accessories.

Rising sales of Smoothies and premium coffee likely helped boost the fourth-quarter 2011 earnings of McDonald's, the world's biggest fast-food chain, by 11 percent.