A government report revealed Thursday that initial claims for unemployment dropped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 366,000, according to the U.S. Labor Department. That's the lowest level since May 2008.
Greece, one of the worst hit countries in the Eurozone crisis, may begin official negotiations to exit the Eurozone in 2012, according to Oliver Pursche, co-portfolio manager of GMG Defensive Beta Fund.
Crude oil prices advanced in Europe trade on Thursday, after plunging to their lowest level in more than five weeks in the previous session.
Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.3 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.5 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.5 percent at 0906 GMT.
The top aftermarket NYSE losers on Wednesday were: KAR Auction Services, TNS, Titan International, Colonial Properties, Greatbatch, ABM Industries, Molina Healthcare, Express, Ethan Allen Interiors and Gaylord Entertainment.
The top aftermarket NYSE gainers on Wednesday were: Talbots, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, iSoftStone Holdings, Teradyne, Christopher & Banks, Primero Mining, Franklin Resources, and First Majestic Silver Corp.
India's food inflation eased to 4.35 percent in the year to December 3 - its lowest reading since late February 2008 -- from an annual 6.60 percent rise in the previous week, government data showed on Thursday.
Economic growth across the world will slow in 2012 due to the problematic combination of private-sector deleveraging, public-sector austerity and the lack of confidence in political leaders' ability to navigate these situations according to IHS, a leading macro-economic consultancy.
Asian shares fell into bear market territory for the year and commodities and the euro nursed stinging losses Thursday, after fears that Europe's debt crisis is still worsening prompted investors to dump riskier assets and huddle in the safety of the dollar and Treasuries.
The bulk of the job cuts (1750) will impact the investment banking unit, Cacib.
The debt burden on Canadian households rose to a record high in the third quarter as mortgage and consumer credit increased but the net worth of households fell, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.
When it comes to our national debt, the economic crisis has recalibrated the nation's sense of the normal. We have grown remarkably comfortable with being in the red. We gaze upon the ever-escalating national debt with a sense of boredom. $15 trillion? Yawn. Adding a few trillion to the debt ledger every so often has become a national pastime.
Canadian factory sales slumped in October after three months of gains, confirming suspicions the final stretch to the end of the year will see a slowdown from the brisk economic growth of earlier months.
Denmark's Novozymes A/S , the world's leading industrial enzyme producer, is now in talks over a series of projects that will boost its presence in China's growing biochemical sector, a company executive said on Wednesday.
Starting next year, fees in English universities will be as high as £9,000 ($13,946) per year -- almost triple the current maximum charge.
Comedian Louis CK took a major risk by putting his new stand-up special online for $5 without any copy restrictions, but the risk paid off. He raked in over $500,000 in revenue in four days.
Nearly one-quarter (22 percent) of people between the ages of 16 and 24 are without work.
Last month the International Energy Agency said in its World Energy Outlook that If, between 2011 and 2015, investment in the [Middle East and North Africa] region runs one-third lower than the $100 billion per year required, consumers could face a near-term rise in the oil price to $150/barrel.
The top aftermarket NYSE gainers on Tuesday were: ESCO Technologies, Fairchild Semiconductor International, Exterran Holdings, Superior Energy Services, Cobalt International Energy, CoreLogic, Harman International Industries, Trinity Industries, Koninklijke Philips Electronics and Tenet Healthcare Corp.
The top aftermarket NYSE losers on Tuesday were: Sequans Communications, IDT Corp, HyperDynamics, Getty Realty, U.S. Gold Corp, Penn Virginia Corp, Ivanhoe Mines, Manitowoc Co, Titan International and Calix.
China pledged to guarantee growth in the face of an extremely grim outlook for the global economy in 2012, as its annual policy-setting conference closed on Wednesday with a series of commitments to deliver economic stability.
Asian shares drifted lower and the euro idled near an 11-month low on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve failed to take any new steps to stimulate growth and offset the chilling effects of Europe's still-unresolved sovereign debt crisis.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) will revise data on sales of existing homes going back to January 2007 because of improper counting, signaling that the housing market was weaker than previously reported.
In a letter sent to the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said lawmakers have a moral obligation to ensure unemployed Americans and their families are able to support themselves in an economy that has not been conductive to job growth.
Roughly one-third of the world's oil tanker traffic passes through the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Associated Press, and just a brief closure would put a noticeable clamp on global supplies, likely sending prices higher.
It's an understatement to say that the Great Recession took its toll on department store chains, but there are survivors, and Nordstrom (JWN) is one.
F&T Group President Michael Meyer says the future of New York - and of America as a whole - lies in large part in its ability to adapt quickly enough to the changing paradigm being posed by Asia's rising prominence.
Best Buy Co's quarterly profit missed Wall Street estimates as bigger discounts during the holiday season squeezed margins at the world's largest electronics chain, and its shares fell 9 percent in premarket trading on Tuesday.
One in five employees suffers from a mental illness, such as depression or anxiety, and many are struggling to cope, according to a new report released Monday by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international economic organization of 34 countries including the U.S.
Futures pointed to a slight rebound on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.46 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.41 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.34 percent at 5:28 a.m. ET.
