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Citigroup Inc agreed to pay $590 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit accusing it of hiding tens of billions of dollars of toxic mortgage assets, one of the largest settlements stemming from the global financial crisis.

It may be surprising to many who believe that Wall Street and global finance are inherently malevolent that a century ago, the public had a very similar perception of financial services, a notion that was channeled by editorial cartoonists in hard-hitting illustrations in magazines like Puck and newspapers like the New York Herald. These cartoons would be as fitting today as they were in 1912.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) dumped its shares of Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC) last quarter and cut its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) while boosting its exposure to oil refining and oil services.

U.S. homebuilder confidence rose in August to the highest level since February 2007 as more buyers entered the market, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

The past week was not kind to billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, chairman and CEO of Facebook Inc. Capping it all was word that Zuckerberg had lost his place among the 10 richest technology billionaires, at least temporarily. How can Zuckerberg climb his way back to the top?

Shares of U.S. banks of all sizes and specialties rose Friday over 3 percent, handily beating the performance of the wider stock market, which itself was in a head-first rally following a week of disappointing news. But there was one big exception to the equity party: megabank JPMorgan Chase and Co. (NYSE:JPM), which looked poised to underperform its peers in late-afternoon trading.

Just one week after losing her 6-year-old daughter Veronica in the Colorado shooting, Ashley Moser has suffered another tremendous loss. She has suffered a miscarriage, reportedly a result of injuries sustained during the shooting.

The hefty $7.25 billion settlement that Visa and MasterCard have agreed to, in response to a 2005 class action lawsuit over credit card swipe fees, will disadvantage retailers further and restrict consumer spending in an economy that relies heavily on credit card use and personal expenditure.

Although the U.S. home construction industry continues to lag behind the broader job market, improvements in housing are expected to create jobs and boost construction this year, mortgage financier Freddie Mac said in a new report, Housing: Getting Back To Work.

The biggest drought the U.S. has seen since 1988 just became the biggest drought since 1956 as the dry and the heat spread to 55 percent of the Lower 48.

The Who have announced a 36-date Quadrophenia tour this fall, performing their 1973 rock opera in its entirety. The legendary band's first North American appearance in four years will kick off Nov. 1 in Sunrise, Fla., and wrap Feb. 26, 2013, in Providence, R.I.

The price of hamburgers, hot dogs and other commonly grilled items shot up dramatically in June, government data released Tuesday showed, far outpacing price increases seen for other food items and the general cost of living, which actually dipped slightly in the month.

The nascent U.S. housing recovery could be concealing another financial time bomb: home equity loans.

Asian stock markets were mostly lower Wednesday as the lack of explicit hints about further quantitative easing from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke during his congressional testimony disappointed investors.

U.S. builder confidence rose in the new single-family home market as in July by the greatest level in nearly a decade, led by improving market conditions and buyer traffic, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

Asian stock markets mostly advanced Monday on speculation of further stimulus measures from China after Premier Wen Jiabao warned Sunday that the recovery in the world’s second largest economy was not stable.

Here is a list of the top 10 players under thirty who are shaping the next generation of champion golfers.

When San Franciso-based Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), releases quarterly results Friday morning, analysts will be examining the corporate filing for hints as to the state of the U.S. housing market.

When New York-based banking behemoth JPMorgan Chase and Co. (NYSE:JPM) reports its financial results for the latest quarter on Friday morning, the market's collective attention will be focused on just one figure: the one finally detailing how much JPMorgan lost as a result of its ill-advised strategy of putting huge hedge bets on the CDS derivatives market.

Earnings season for the second quarter is almost here, with America's biggest aluminum producer, Alcoa Inc., announcing its results on Monday and JPMorgan Chase & Co. disclosing a portion of its total derivatives-trading losses on Friday the 13th.

A list of winners and losers in the world of business and economics for the week of June 17.

Tesla Motors Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) will begin deliveries of test-drivable, production versions of its long-awaited successor to the Roadster electric car, the Model S sedan on Friday.

First-time claims for jobless benefits in the U.S. fell by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 387,000 in the week ended June 16, Labor Department said Thursday, but the overall level still shows a weak labor market.

The formation of a new Greek government Wednesday staves off fears of a swift departure from the euro zone by the Hellenic Republic. But this week's election and installation of a new administration merely extends the country's economic death-spiral as its economic woes remain deep and pervasive.

The dissolution of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest U.S. mortgage guarantors, would have only a minimal impact on home ownership level, according to a new report that downplays the link between low interest rates and increased ownership.

World's richest man, Carlos Slim Helu, said lifting the age of retirement, privatizing infrastructure assets and making people over 60 work 10 to 11 hours three times a week could remedy the economic woes of struggling nations.

The European Union's ?100 billion ($126 billion) bailout of Spanish banks may have, at least temporarily, saved those institutions. But the rescue is being judged a failure by the markets, as it appears to have seriously damaged the government's ability to borrow from international creditors, something a country running on deficit financing for the foreseeable future is vitally dependent on.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade Friday are: Frontline Ltd, EMC Corporation, Deutsche Bank AG, SAP AG, Carnival Corporation, Wells Fargo & Company and BHP Billiton Limited.

U.S. mortgages rates have dropped to record lows for four consecutive weeks, but that doesn't mean more homes will be sold. In fact, at least one housing expert argues that extremely low rates are causing banks to be even more stringent with underwriting approvals, turning away more prospective buyers and hurting the national housing market.