MARKETS / FINANCE

Bank of America Corp reported a fourth-quarter loss of $5.2 billion, hurt by higher credit costs, lower net interest income and its repayment of U.S. government bailout aid.

Chinese authorities ordered some big banks to curb lending for the rest of January, intensifying their efforts to prevent the world's third-largest economy from overheating.

In the autumn of 1998, computer science engineer Li Yanhong developed Rankdex, an experimental search engine that ranked websites according to their relevance to each other.

Nokia was back with a vengeance in the battle between handset makers over Christmas, Carphone Warehouse, Europe's biggest mobile phone retailer, said on Tuesday.

China's top search engine, Baidu Inc (BIDU.O), filed a lawsuit against its U.S.-based domain name service provider on Wednesday after a cyber attack interrupted its web services last week.

Oil extended losses toward $78 a barrel on Wednesday on tighter credit policy in China, a stronger dollar and expectations that U.S. refiners processed less crude.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.38 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.37 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.48 percent at 1018 GMT (5:18 a.m. EST).

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.38 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.37 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.48 percent at 1018 GMT (5:18 a.m. EST).

The Treasury Department persuaded some big banks to pay more than market estimates to repurchase warrants issued to the government in the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a draft Treasury report.

Economic freedoms were sharply reduced last year on massive spending and bailouts during the financial crisis, a trend that could imperil future economic prospects, the U.S.-based Heritage Foundation said on Wednesday.

World stocks slipped on Wednesday after reports of bank lending restrictions in China, while the euro hit a five-month low against a broadly stronger dollar with concerns about Greece's fiscal problems nagging investors.

Sony Corp said it would postpone the launch of a motion controller, or wireless controlling device, for its PlayStation 3 to the autumn of 2010 from this spring, marking the second delay of a major product release in as many weeks.

The euro fell broadly on Wednesday, hitting a four-month low against the dollar on concern about Greece's fiscal problems and breaking below a key chart level that could signal a bearish trend for the currency.

Oil extended losses toward $78 a barrel on Wednesday on tighter credit policy in China, a stronger dollar and expectations that U.S. refiners processed less crude.

Oil slid to below $79 a barrel on Wednesday on a stronger dollar, tighter Chinese credit policy and expectations that refiners at top consumer the United States processed less crude.

Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday launched a vigorous defense of their dealings with American International Group , calling for a congressional audit and denying any inappropriate action with respect to payments the bailed-out insurer made to banks.

The Australian dollar trade in a V shape pattern overnight falling from Asian close around 0.9240 to a low of 0.9180 only to bounce back to open this morning around 0.9240. Negative sentiment surrounding the Euro added support to the Greenback against the majors inspiring the move lower however with U.S equities and commodities once again performing well AUD/USD bounced back quickly. The Aussie appears to be range bound at present with resistance around the 93 cent handle proving difficult to br...

After reporting steep profit drops on Tuesday, the top two U.S. online brokerages asked for patience as they face more of the same low interest rates and hope their clients return to the markets in force this year.

The International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) announced on Tuesday its fourth-quarter earnings of 2009.

IBM raised its 2010 profit target and reported a stronger-than-expected 9 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings, as cost cuts and a shift to more profitable contracts helped it weather a slump in corporate spending.

Events in health insurance, basic materials and utilities sparked a rally in the stock market on Tuesday as investors looked past earnings.

Stocks rose broadly on Tuesday, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh 15-month closing highs as investors bet a potential Republican victory in Massachusetts' Senate race could stall Obama's reform agenda.

Most young women believe they will achieve a balance between a rewarding career and a fulfilling personal life, despite the economic upheaval and a legacy of corporate culture that favors men, a survey shows.

U.S. technology professionals are more frustrated with their pay than they have been in years as their salaries stagnate, according to an annual survey of about 17,000 visitors to the Dice.com website.

Citigroup Inc posted a $7.6 billion quarterly loss on Tuesday, but the bank's shares rose as declining loan losses raised hopes that the worst might soon be over.

Share buybacks by U.S. corporations could be back in style this year as an improving economy makes companies more willing to loosen their purse strings to fund transactions that could reward investors with a higher share price.

Stocks rose broadly on Tuesday, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh 15-month closing highs as investors bet a potential Republican victory in Massachusetts' Senate race could stall Obama's reform agenda.

Williams Companies, Inc (NYSE:WMB) and Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ) on Tuesday announced a strategic restructuring valued at $12 billion.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday asked a government auditor to conduct a full review of the central bank's actions in bailing out insurer AIG, seeking to quell a controversy that risks undermining the Fed's authority.