MARKETS / FINANCE

Stephen Schwarzman, the boss of the world's largest private equity firm, made his fortune by being a financier who delivered outsized returns for investors from buying, restructuring and then selling companies. These days, he is getting huge rewards for being the biggest shareholder in what is more like a souped-up asset manager.

Consumer prices rose the most in four months in January as the price of gasoline jumped, highlighting a growing concern that higher energy costs could slow the economic recovery.

Stephen Schwarzman, the boss of the world's largest private equity firm, made his fortune by being a financier who delivered outsized returns for investors from buying, restructuring and then selling companies. These days, he is getting huge rewards for being the biggest shareholder in what is more like a souped-up asset manager.

Stocks edged up slightly Friday, but investors were wary of making big bets heading into a holiday weekend when Greece's bailout plan is expected to be approved.

Gasoline prices jumped 0.9 percent in January, pushing overall consumer prices up and offering a reminder of the risks energy costs pose to the economic recovery.

A federal appeals court has thrown out the conviction of a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc computer programmer who had been convicted of stealing part of the Wall Street bank's high-frequency trading code.

Ally Financial is weighing a sale of all or part of its auto lending and banking businesses as an initial public offering looks increasingly remote and the U.S. government seeks to recoup some $17 billion in bailout money, sources familiar with the situation said.

Gold fell on Friday as investors took profits after an initial rally driven by growing confidence that Greece was edging closer toward winning a new rescue package.

Wall Street stocks were set to open slightly higher Friday on optimism about Greece's bailout, but gains could be small as investors appeared ready to take a breather after the S&P 500 posted its best daily gain in two weeks.

Greece appears to be closing in on a new international rescue package despite unresolved doubts among euro zone partners about how fast it will manage to bring its debt down.

Stock index futures rose Friday on signs of progress in Greece's bailout, but gains were small as investors appeared ready to take a breather after the S&P 500 posted its best daily gain in two weeks.

Campbell Soup Co reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday, citing progress in its plan to turnaround its sagging U.S. soup business.

Ally Financial is weighing a sale of all or part of its auto lending and banking businesses, as an initial public offering looks increasingly remote and the U.S. government seeks to recoup some $17 billion in bailout money, sources familiar with the situation said.

Asian banks are filling the void in the aircraft financing market left by squeezed European lenders, but Middle East tensions and the sheer scale of Asia's aviation growth look set to leave the industry's funding on a knife-edge, experts said.

Capital flight, soaring borrowing costs, tanking currency and stocks and a central bank forced to pump vast amounts of cash into local banks -- that is what Japan may have to contend with if it fails to tackle its snowballing debt.

A group of traders and brokers had successfully managed to manipulate key interbank lending rates that affect loans around the world, one of the banks being investigated has told Canadian regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

World stocks rose near a six-month peak on Friday and the dollar hit a 3-1/2 month high against the yen as hopes for a long-awaited Greek bailout deal next week following on from strong U.S. data encouraged investors to buy riskier assets.

Asian shares rebounded on Friday on signs that euro zone officials will soon approve a long-awaited bailout for Greece, and after jobs and factory data pointed to a healthier U.S. economy.

Twitter Inc. on Thursday formally launched a service to allow small businesses to buy and place ads on the online messaging platform.

It wasn't Sherry Hunt's original intent to go public on the shoddy quality control at a mortgage unit at Citigroup Inc , her employer since 2004.

Gold prices held steady on Friday, after optimism that Greece may soon secure an urgently needed bailout helped the metal recover from a one-week low hit in the previous session.

The Postal Service warned it could become a long-term burden on taxpayers absent legislative change, as the cash-strapped agency put pressure on Congress to allow it to end Saturday delivery and to tap into a retirement-account surplus.

China's top search engine, Baidu Inc, beat Wall Street's earnings estimates as its revenue grew more than 80 percent year-on-year in the fourth-quarter.

The new U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a proposal to regulate about 200 debt collectors and companies that produce credit reports as part of an effort to extend its oversight beyond the banking industry.

The S&P 500 hit a nine-month high on Thursday, fueled by strong U.S. economic data and increased hopes for a deal on a Greek bailout next week.

Billionaire financier Ron Perelman and his longtime former business partner and one-time best friend Donald Drapkin have kissed and made up, at least in the legal sense, weeks after going to trial.

Investors flocked to two Canadian gold mining companies, Kinross Gold and Agnico-Eagle Mines, ignoring mixed earnings reports and driving stock prices up after an announced increase in dividends.

The number of Americans filing for new unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to a near four-year low last week, suggesting the labor market recovery was quickening.

Now that President Barack Obama must nominate a new President of the World Bank, he’s keeping his mouth shut, especially in an election year.