CANADA

Large banks would not have to set aside money to cover the cost of liquidating troubled financial firms under an agreement on Wednesday by U.S. lawmakers finalizing a sweeping rewrite of financial regulations.

Good Technology, one of the largest independent mobile phone business software providers, said it will expand its device management software to cover Apple's iPhone, potentially boosting corporate uptake of the iconic device.

Wall Street banks face a turning point on Wednesday as U.S. lawmakers are expected to spell out limits on a range of risky but lucrative trading practices in a sweeping rewrite of financial regulations.

China's yuan eked out a tiny gain on Wednesday after its biggest swings since 2005 earlier this week, suggesting Beijing's promise of currency flexibility will not produce the rapid gains its trading partners would like.

Apple Inc said on Tuesday it sold 3 million iPads since the touch-screen tablet computer hit the market less than three months ago, boosting its stock two days before the company's iPhone arrives on store shelves.

China appeared to engineer a fall in the yuan on Tuesday to make clear that its newly flexible currency was not a one-way bet to appreciate, as markets reflected waning optimism over Beijing's new policy.

The Bank of Canada said on Tuesday that China's move to loosen its foreign exchange controls was an important step forward.

Germany, France and Britain announced plans on Tuesday to introduce a bank levy to help meet the costs of the financial crisis, without waiting for a G20 summit this week, underscoring a rift with key partners.

China on Tuesday stuck to its guns on the pace of exchange rate reform, reaffirming that change must remain gradual and controllable.

Asian stocks and commodities retreated on Tuesday as wary investors took profits from a rally ignited by China's weekend decision to give its currency more flexibility.

China pulled back the veil on its new currency regime a little further on Tuesday, appearing to engineer a fall in the yuan to make clear its vow of flexibility did not include one-way bets for appreciation.

Asian markets waited with bated breath Tuesday to see how far Beijing would go in allowing its currency to strengthen, a litmus test of just how flexible the Chinese authorities are prepared to be to meet U.S. demands.

China's signal it will let its yuan currency appreciate is good news for global manufacturers and resource companies that supply the world's third-biggest economy with the equipment and commodities it needs to fuel growth.

China's surprise move to relax currency controls ahead of this weekend's G20 summit buoyed global markets and sent the yuan to a five-year peak on Monday, but caution returned as analysts questioned how far Beijing's new currency flexibility would go.

Biovail Corp is to take over U.S-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International in a complex deal that positions the enlarged firm to better serve the growing baby boomer market.

When Philip Mould began as a professional art dealer 22 years ago, the buying and selling of high-end artwork was confined to a small group of well-versed art historians who scoured the globe in search of masterpieces.

China's yuan hit a five-year peak on Monday after Beijing suddenly relaxed controls ahead of this weekend's G20 summit, sparking stock gains around the world and questions about just how far China's new currency flexibility would go.

China's yuan surged to a five-year peak on Monday, sending stocks higher across the globe as Beijing signaled ahead of this weekend's G20 summit that it would deliver on pledges of greater currency flexibility.

Private forecasters have raised their 2010 estimates for Canada's economic growth, saying the near-term outlook has improved further since a March survey, the Canadian Finance Department said on Monday.

Leaders of some of the Group of 20 nations meeting in Canada this weekend will want to hear more about how China plans to make its currency more flexible, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Monday.

The overall risk to Canadian financial stability has increased over the past six months as mounting concerns over sovereign debt erupted in financial markets, the Bank of Canada said on Monday.