MARKETS / FINANCE

China is greatly concerned and strongly opposed to the United States' listing of Taobao, the country's largest consumer e-commerce website, as a notorious market for piracy, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

As Wall Street banks sharply cut costs, many of the industry's star bankers and traders are leaving their shrinking pay packages and firms behind.

Gold futures rose slightly on Wednesday, as increases in the price of the precious metal were spurred on by a weaker dollar but limited by profit-taking. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, Gold for February delivery, rose $4.30, or 0.3^*1, to $1,659.90 an ounce.

Stocks gained on Wednesday as the International Monetary Fund sought to help countries hit by the European debt crisis, while Goldman Sachs' healthy earnings gave the financial sector another boost.

Miner Rio Tinto, which owns a 49 percent stake in Ivanhoe Mines, welcomed a decision by the owner of the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper mine to scrap a poison pill provision, and said it was now free to raise its holding.

Britain urged European Union competition officials on Wednesday to reject political interference and vested interests when ruling on plans to create the world's biggest exchange operator.

The United States is becoming less economically competitive versus other nations, with political gridlock and a weak primary education system seen as the main drag, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Almost all U.S. metropolitan areas will see job growth in 2012, but for many areas it will still take years for employment to return to pre-recession levels, according to a report released on Wednesday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan on Wednesday said about one million borrowers are expected to benefit from principal reductions on their mortgages as part of a wide-ranging settlement with banks over dubious foreclosure practices.

The Nasdaq advanced more than 1 percent while the Dow and S&P 500 added to gains on Wednesday as optimism about potential help from the International Monetary Fund for Europe.

Authorities arrested four people and will announce charges against several more on Wednesday as part of the government's sweeping probe into insider trading at hedge funds, an FBI spokesman said.

U.S. factory output in December grew at the fastest pace in a year and homebuilder sentiment improved this month, further evidence the economy entered the new year on firmer footing.

The English page of Wikipedia, the world's free online encyclopedia, was dark on Wednesday except for a paragraph urging users to protest legislation designed to stop copyright piracy, but that Wikipedia says could fatally damage the free and open Internet.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday on optimism the International Monetary Fund wants to raise more money to help combat Europe's debt crisis and after Goldman Sachs' earnings beat estimates.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s admission that his income tax rate was “probably closer to 15 percent than anything” may re-ignite the debate on the lower tax rate for capital gains and carried interest than for ordinary income -- the income category for most typical Americans.

Industrial output rose in December as manufacturing rebounded at its strongest pace in a year, countering a weather-related decline in utilities, Federal Reserve data showed on Wednesday.

Goldman Sachs Group reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit of $978 million, or $1.84 per share, compared with a gain of $2.2 billion one year earlier. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.24 a share.

Producer prices fell in December as companies paid less for gasoline and vegetables, although higher prices for light motor trucks pushed a measure of underlying inflation higher.

Industrial output rose in December as manufacturing rebounded at its strongest pace in a year, further evidence the economy ended 2011 on a firmer footing.

The House of Representatives will resume work next month on a controversial bill aimed at stopping online piracy of movies, music and other content, a leading lawmaker said on Tuesday.

A blackout scheduled for Wednesday to protest against proposed legislation on online piracy has failed to get the support of the biggest Internet players.

Mexican precious metals miner Fresnillo beat its annual output target and said it expected stable silver production in 2012, as a boost from new mines offsets lower ore grades at its flagship operation.

Stocks opened little changed on Wednesday as initial enthusiasm over the International Monetary Fund's plan to bolster lending to struggling euro zone nations flagged, but financial shares were boosted after Goldman Sachs quarterly profits topped views.

The FBI is in the process of arresting Anthony Chiasson, who co-founded the Level Global Investors hedge fund, and others as part of the government's sweeping probe into insider trading, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Russian steelmaker Severstal's Nord Gold mining unit said it produced 204,000 gold equivalent ounces in the fourth quarter, up 14 percent on Q3.

A blackout scheduled for Wednesday to protest against proposed legislation on online piracy has failed to get the support of the biggest Internet players.

Applications for home mortgages surged more than 20 percent last week, fueled by a wave of refinancing demand as interest rates dropped, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Producer prices fell in December as companies paid less for gasoline and vegetables but a measure of underlying inflation climbed higher, sending mixed signals about inflation pressures in the economy.

European regulators will decide around the end of March whether to file a formal complaint against Google for misuse of its market position, potentially bringing the internet company's squabble with competitors to a head much sooner than expected.