MARKETS / FINANCE

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Wednesday the central bank is fully committed to continuing powerful monetary easing through various measures, such as keeping interest rates practically at zero and purchasing financial assets until 1 percent inflation is in sight.

Activist shareholder William Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management plans to raise $4 billion by listing a new fund in January 2013, the Financial Times reported.

The United States on Wednesday threw its support behind a bid to boost the International Monetary Fund's financial resources, signaling greater satisfaction among Group of 20 nations with Europe's efforts to resolve its debt crisis.

Institutional investors are increasingly pressing boards to rein in outsized executive pay, and after Citigroup shareholders rejected a compensation plan on Tuesday, more directors may start listening.

U.S. stocks slipped on Wednesday, a day after Wall Street's best gains in a month, as uninspiring earnings from tech bellwethers IBM and Intel gave investors a reason to take profits.

Senator Daniel Akaka's retirement jeopardizes the fight to grant Native Hawaiians federal recognition

Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp dropped more than 5 percent on Wednesday and one investor called for the company to clean up its leadership after a Reuters report that Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon borrowed as much as $1.1 billion against his stake in thousands of company wells.

More than half of local and state employees continue to work under pay freezes, while others are accelerating their retirements or facing the prospects of layoffs as the effects of the recession linger on the public sector, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Vitaly Pecharsky, chief technology officer for the shopping site SlickDeals.net, is something of a credit card collector and has 40 active credit cards to show for his passion.

While chances of a third round of U.S. money-printing quantitative easing measures, or QE3, have dimmed, the World Gold Council, or WGC, remains positive on the yellow metal's outlook due to its international appeal and value in hedging against inflation and deflation.

Shares in Chesapeake Energy Corp fell nearly 10 percent on Wednesday after a Reuters report that Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon had borrowed as much as $1.1 billion over the last three years against his stake in thousands of company wells.

Commodities trader Glencore signed a $6 billion syndicated loan backing its $90 billion merger with miner Xstrata on Tuesday after raising nearly $11 billion in syndication, banking sources said on Wednesday.

Stocks declined on Wednesday after uninspiring earnings from IBM and Intel, while Chesapeake Energy sank after a Reuters report highlighted that its CEO has taken out large and unusual personal loans.

Recently, India also commissioned a Russian-made nuclear submarine, and it is negotiating with a French company for more than a hundred Rafale fighter jets.

The Android smartphone operating system is a very important asset for Google, but it is not critical, Google's chief executive said in courtroom testimony.

Halliburton Co , the world's second-largest oilfield services company, reported a higher quarterly profit as North American sales hit a record high despite major challenges, and its shares rose more than 4 percent.

BlackRock Inc , the world's largest asset manager, said first-quarter profits were steady, bolstered by strong inflows into its popular iShares exchange-traded fund business.

Stocks were lower on Wednesday after uninspiring earnings from IBM and Intel, while Chesapeake Energy slumped after a Reuters report highlighted large and unusual personal loans taken by its chief executive.

Fresnillo, the world's largest primary silver producer, posted first-quarter output of the metal in line with its expectations and said production of gold was ahead of target, helped by the start-up of a new mine in Mexico.

Syria is trying to sell gold reserves to raise revenue as Western and Arab sanctions targeting its central bank and oil exports begin to bite, diplomats and traders said.

The government will face a major test on whether it has the capacity to govern when it faces big tax and budget decisions at the end of the year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc Chief Executive Warren Buffett said he has stage 1 prostate cancer but his condition is not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way.

Commodities trader Glencore signed a $6 billion syndicated loan backing its $90 billion merger with miner Xstrata on Tuesday after raising nearly $11 billion in syndication, banking sources said on Wednesday.

Gold eased on Wednesday, having fallen for the past three trading days, as the euro came under pressure from continued worries about the euro zone.

Fears of a resurgence in the euro zone debt crisis boosted demand for safe-haven German bonds on Wednesday, while the Bank of England and a European Central Bank official signaled more monetary policy easing to support growth was unlikely.

Halliburton Co , the world's second-largest oilfield services company, on Wednesday reported higher quarterly profits as North American sales reached a record high, lifting its shares in premarket trading.

Stock index futures dipped on Wednesday after the S&P 500 tallied its biggest gain in a month and ahead of another round of corporate earnings.

Stock index futures edged lower on Wednesday after the S&P 500 tallied its biggest gain in a month and ahead of another round of corporate earnings.

Aubrey McClendon, the CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp, has borrowed as much as $1.1 billion over the last three years against his stake in thousands of company wells - a move that analysts, academics and attorneys who reviewed loan documents say raises the potential for conflicts of interest.