ECONOMY & MARKETS

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

Global Bank Stocks Rally to Best Week of the Year

Bank stocks finished up one of the best-performing weeks of the year Friday, as a global coordinated stimulus by the world's top central bankers announced Wednesday injected some badly needed liquidity into the credit markets and signaled a willingness for future intervention if the going gets tougher.

TSX climbs on banks, Europe hopes

TSX little changed, Kinross drop offsets China
Toronto's main stock index was higher on Friday morning, on track to post its biggest weekly gain in more than two years, pushed up by strong bank earnings, encouraging U.S. jobs data and talk of more action to ease Europe's debt.

Does BASEL Stand for "Banks Acting Silly to Enhance Liquidity?"

Safe boxes are pictured in the vault of a Swiss bank in Basel
As banks around the world race to satisfy international capital requirements, they are going through a veritable fire sale, getting rid of non-core businesses no matter how much they will fetch. Beyond that, they are engaging in some odd transactions, including a substantial amount of balance sheet engineering.
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Japan Nikkei

Nikkei Closes Up Friday for Biggest Weekly Gain in 2 Years

The Nikkei average extended gains to log its biggest weekly advance in two years on Friday, though the mood was far from upbeat given uncertainty over whether Europe will next week manage to cobble together steps to counter the debt crisis there.
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U.S. Stock Futures Jump Ahead of Key Jobs Report

Stock index futures pointed to a sharply higher open for equities on Wall Street Friday, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones and for the Nasdaq 100 up 1 to 1.1 percent ahead of a key jobs report.
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Asian Stocks Post Weekly Gains on Central Bank Fix

Asian stocks are set for their first weekly rise in a month buoyed by coordinated central bank actions, while the euro held on to hefty gains before European policymakers make a fresh stab to tackle its crisis at a summit next week.
Oil

Oil Dips Below $100 Thursday in Choppy Trading

U.S. crude futures fell back on Thursday after government data showed that new filings for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week to their highest level since late October, a bad sign for oil demand. Oil traded down $1.01 to $99.41 per barrel on Thursday at mid-day.
Europe Stock Markets

Europe's Markets Mixed Thursday at Mid-day

European shares fell in choppy trade on Thursday after data showed new U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week, with some investors booking profits after equities jumped 9 percent in the previous four sessions.
Loonie firms vs U.S. dollar for 4th straight day

Loonie firms vs U.S. dollar for 4th straight day

The Canadian dollar firmed against the U.S. dollar for a fourth straight day on Thursday as a Spanish bond sale saw decent demand and a liquidity move by major central banks raised hopes policymakers would step up action to tackle Europe's debt crisis.
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Can California Exports Survive a Recession in Europe?

Wells Fargo Securities said California's wholesale trade, transport and export industries have been big beneficiaries of the growing wealth of Asia and growing demand from other countries, such as Canada and Mexico.
Ariab Gold Mine in Sudan

Gold Prices Rise Four Days in a Row, Hit Two-Week High

Gold prices climbed to a nearly two-week high Thursday, along with other risky assets, after the world's richest central banks jointly pledged to make it easier for the Eurozone's acutely stressed banks to obtain funding.
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U.S. Stock Futures Signal Lower Open

Stock index futures pointed to a weaker open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.5 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.4 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.2 percent at 4:37 a.m. ET.
Petrol

Petrol Prices to be Cut by Rs. 0.78 per Litre

State-run oil firms will cut petrol prices by Rs. 0.78 (1.5 cents) a litre, or approximately 1.2 percent, from Thursday, Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) said. This will be the second cut this month, reflecting global prices and potentially easing near double-digit inflation.
Food

India’s Food Inflation at 8 Percent

India's Food Price Index rose 8 percent, which is its slowest pace in nearly 4 months, and the Fuel Price Index climbed 15.53 percent in the year (calculated till Nov. 19), government data released on Thursday showed.
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Central banks act as euro zone crisis rages

The world's major central banks acted jointly on Wednesday to provide cheaper dollar funding to European banks facing a credit crunch as the euro zone's debt crisis drove EU ministers to urge more IMF help to avert financial disaster.
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Q3 GDP beats Street, rebounds from Q2 fall

The Canadian economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter, recovering more solidly than expected from a 0.5 percent contraction in the second quarter that was linked to the impact of Japan's earthquake and tsunami.
A man uses his iPhone 4

IPhone 4 Camera Maker OmniVision Technologies, Dropped From 4S, Reports Dismal Results

What happens to the wire, chip and sensor makers working for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) when the company gives them the boot? The answer to that question might be found in the dismal quarterly results released Tuesday by OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:OVTI), a company that makes imaging sensors used in smartphone, tablet and notebook cameras.

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