MARKETS / FINANCE

Spain sold the maximum amount targeted at a sale of bonds Thursday, and its cost of borrowing held well below highs reached on bond markets last week, helping ease immediate nerves over its ability to fund public finances.

Groupon Inc's fourth quarter got off to a strong start in October as the largest daily deal company's growth outpaced that of its closest rival, LivingSocial, industry data tracker Yipit said on Thursday.

Small businesses borrowing surged in October, registering a 15th monthly double-digit increase and signaling the economy will continue to grow in coming months.

Wells Fargo Securities said California's labor market has shown some encouraging signs of improvement over the past three months, though jobs creation for much of the year has been a hit-or-miss venture.

India gold futures eased a tad from a 2-week high, weighed by a stronger Indian rupee, but the losses were not enough to attract physical players seeking to stock up for the wedding season.

The world economy faces a worse situation than in 2008 and stimulating growth is the top priority, a Chinese official said on Thursday, as data showed slumping export demand stalled manufacturing in some of Asia's biggest economies.

Asian shares rallied to two-week highs on Thursday, building on strong global gains after the world's six major central banks moved to tame a liquidity crunch for European banks by providing cheaper dollar funding.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, unveiled its first social-networking application late on Wednesday, in a move to latch onto one of the hottest trends in e-commerce.

Short lead times from manufacturing customers are making it tough to predict end demand for microchips and hard to say whether an inventory correction is bottoming out, the chief executive of Maxim Integrated Products said.

Video game companies want to turn gamers from one-time purchasers into subscribers who generate a steady and predictable revenue stream to boost business and protect against economic uncertainty.

The whistleblower in the accounting scandal engulfing Japan's Olympus Corp, ex-CEO Michael Woodford, quit the firm's board of directors on Thursday and called for an urgent shareholder meeting to replace its disgraced top brass.

The trustee tapped to control the assets of MF Global Holdings promised an independent approach to the futures broker's bankruptcy in his first public comments since accepting the post.

Groupon Inc's shares rose more than 9 percent on Wednesday after Chief Executive Andrew Mason emerged from the company's post-IPO quiet period to share holiday sales numbers.

Clearwire Corp is expected to reach a funding agreement with Sprint Nextel at least by year-end and possibly in time for Clearwire's December 1 debt interest payment deadline, according to people following a standoff between the wireless service providers.

Total Immersion, a pioneer in emerging field of augmented reality , is working with Intel to bring AR features, like gesture recognition, into Intel's chipsets, an executive of the privately held firm said on Wednesday.

Private equity firms Blackstone Group and Bain Capital will lead a bid for the whole of Yahoo Inc after agreeing to team up with Alibaba Group, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday sped up the review of a ruling that moved consideration of Bank of America Corp's $8.5 billion settlement over mortgage debt to federal court from a New York state court.

U.S. weapons makers told investors this week they are doing all they can to prepare for leaner and more uncertain U.S. defense budgets, including redoubling their efforts to cut costs, drum up export sales and sell more goods to commercial clients.

LivingSocial Inc is set to run a national discount offer with McDonald's Corp as the second-largest daily-deals company moves to catch larger rival Groupon Inc.

Boeing Co has made an early deal with its biggest union for a new four-year contract, which if ratified would mean the end of the planemaker's dispute with the National Labor Relations Board and ensure the new 737 MAX single-aisle plane would be built in Washington state.

Stocks surged on Wednesday after major central banks agreed to make cheaper dollar loans for struggling European banks to prevent the euro-zone debt woes from turning into a full-blown credit crisis.

Iceland's special prosecutor arrested the former chief executive of Glitnir Bank on Wednesday and questioned nearly two dozen people related to the collapse of the bank in 2008.

The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday the U.S. economy grew moderately in recent weeks but said hiring remained anemic and housing activity impaired.

After the frenzy of Cyber Monday, members of Congress on Wednesday entered into a different scuffle over web shopping: states' desire to collect sales taxes from Internet retailers.

Boeing Co has made an early deal with its biggest union for a new four-year contract, which if ratified would mean the end of the planemaker's dispute with the National Labor Relations Board and ensure the new 737 MAX single-aisle plane would be built in Washington state.

Stocks surged on Wednesday after major central banks agreed to make cheaper dollar loans for struggling European banks to prevent the euro-zone debt woes from turning into a full-blown credit crisis.

Stocks surged more than 4 percent on Wednesday after major central banks agreed to make cheaper dollar loans for struggling European banks to prevent the euro-zone debt crisis from spiking a credit crunch.

by Anthony Hughes and Robert SherwoodNEW YORK, Nov 30 - Zynga is expected to price its shares on December 15 in one of the most highly anticipated IPOs of the year.

E*Trade Financial Corp's chief financial officer said on Wednesday that the deteriorating economic environment spurred by Europe's debt crisis was a key reason behind the No. 3 online brokerage's decision not to put itself up for sale after its recent strategic review.