MARKETS / FINANCE

New orders for manufactured goods rose in December and a gauge of future business investment rebounded, showing the economy ended the year with more momentum than previously thought.

Stocks fell on Thursday, interrupting a recent rally, as investors booked profits after weaker-than-expected housing data.

To extreme right-wing Hindus and ultra-nationalists, the holiday represents a dire threat to traditional Indian values and represent part of what they believe is a conspiracy by the West to destroy Indian culture.

Fortuna Silver Mines Inc., one of Latin America's fastest growing silver producers announced Thursday its silver production in the last year rose by 31 percent, the fifth consecutive year the company's production grew.

A New Zealand court granted bail on Thursday to two associates of the founder of online file-sharing website Megaupload, accused of being involved in a scheme that allegedly made more than $175 million from Internet piracy and illegal file sharing.

Netflix Inc won back Wall Street's affections on Thursday after adding more U.S. subscribers than expected in the fourth quarter, a rebound that prompted analyst upgrades and the company's biggest one-day stock jump in two years.

Below are highlights from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's news conference following the Fed's policy meeting on Wednesday.

The average Muslim convert in the U.K. is described as a “27-year-old white woman.”

The World Economic Forum's signature closed-session on banking saw financiers increasingly hopeful that the euro zone's debt crisis can be resolved and confident of a deal to ensure Greece's now inevitable debt default will be orderly.

Wall Street dipped on Thursday as housing and financial stocks declined after weaker-than-expected housing data gave investors reason to pause after a recent rally.

American International Group Chairman Steve Miller said on Thursday the bailed-out insurance giant may eventually want to buy a life insurer outside the United States, including possibly a larger stake in the spun-off subsidiary AIA Group , as confidence in its turnaround grows.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday talks between the Greek government and its private creditors were on track but next Monday's EU summit would focus on how to boost growth and employment in Europe rather than Greece's predicament.

Online recruitment firm Monster Worldwide Inc forecast a weak start to the year and said it will cut jobs, as it does not expect the global job market to improve drastically in the near term.

AT&T Inc posted a $6.7 billion quarterly loss as it was weighed down by a hefty break-up fee for its failed T-Mobile USA merger and other big charges on top of costly subsidies for smartphones such as Apple Inc's popular iPhone.

Wall Street edged loweron Thursday as housing and financial stocks lost ground after weaker-than-expected housing data gave investors reason to pause after a recent rally.

New orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose in December and a gauge of future business investment rebounded, showing the U.S. economy ended the year with more momentum than previously thought.

New single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in December for the first time in four months and the median home price dropped, dampening some of the hopes the housing sector will boost the economy this year.

3M Co reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday as demand from industrial and transport markets offset weak sales to makers of consumer electronics.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, a government report showed on Thursday, but the underlying trend continued to point to improving labor market conditions.

Wall Street rose modestly on Thursday on a combination of an extended easy monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, strong earnings from Caterpillar Inc and 3M Corp, as well as solid U.S. economic data.

Russia-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk said on Thursday its full year output will rise 11 percent to 680,000 ounces in 2012, having beaten last year's target on the back of higher output at its flagship Pioneer mine.

Gold miner Avocet Mining said full-year production beat its guidance after output from its flagship Inata project in Burkina Faso recovered strongly in the last three months of 2011, boosting its shares.

Throughout all of Europe we have seen the rise in the polls of extreme right political parties.

First Uranium's third-quarter gold sales dropped 5 percent and uranium production fell 14 percent from the prior quarter due to accidents at its Ezulwini mine in South Africa, and the miner cut its full-year gold production forecast.

Caterpillar Inc reported a 58 percent rise in quarterly earnings that far exceeded Wall Street expectations on Thursday due to increased global demand for construction machinery and mining equipment.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday, adding to gains from the previous session when the Federal Reserve boosted equities by saying it was likely to keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014.

Gold prices jumped Thursday after the Federal Reserve surprised markets by saying ultra-low interest rates will continue through 2014.

Italy sold the top planned amount of 5 billion euros at a bond auction on Thursday, meeting sound demand ahead of a crucial sale of five- and 10-year paper on Monday.

Italy could turn out to be the investment bet of the decade if European Union leaders manage to contain the euro zone crisis.