MARKETS / FINANCE

European leaders roundly hailed all the agreements.

Economic growth likely gathered steam in the third quarter as consumers and businesses set aside fears and stepped up spending, creating momentum that is expected to carry into the final three months of the year.

The traits banks tend to look for when hiring new traders are the very same ones likely to make them go rogue, industry insiders and psychologists say.

Dow Chemical narrowly missed Wall Street's quarterly profit expectations as cost increases dented demand in Europe and North America.

The euro and stocks rallied on Thursday after European leaders struck a deal to provide debt relief for Greece, but analysts warned the plan would fail to halt the euro zone's two-year-old debt crisis unless crucial details were resolved soon.

Stock index futures rose sharply on Thursday after European leaders agreed to boost the region's bailout fund and struck a deal with private banks and insurers to accept 50 percent losses on Greek bonds.

In the spring of 1999, Michel Pebereau, chief executive of Banque Nationale de Paris , gathered a dozen of his top bankers to propose an audacious plan to buy not one, but two rivals and create a French national champion.

Mississippi is considering a constitutional amendment that would effectively ban all abortions, in the most direct state challenge yet to the Roe v. Wade precedent.

China is considering a proposal to set up a regional bank to help its small and medium enterprises invest in Southeast Asian neighbors, fund infrastructure projects and promote development in southwestern China, two independent sources said.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones futures and Nasdaq 100 futures rising 1.5 to 1.8 percent at 5:05 a.m. EDT.

The Bank of Japan eased monetary policy on Thursday by boosting purchases of government bonds and warned of risks posed by a strong yen and Europe's debt crisis in a sign it would act again if recovery in the world's third-largest economy falters.

Britain will not contribute to a euro zone bailout fund, Chancellor George Osborne said on Thursday following a deal to address the euro zone crisis.

World stocks and the euro rose to their highest levels in nearly two months on Thursday after European leaders struck a deal to resolve a two-year-old sovereign debt crisis, which threatens the survival of the single currency.

European stock index futures rose on Thursday as riskier assets across the board and the euro rallied in Asia, after European leaders agreed to boost their region's rescue fund and have private bondholders accept a huge loss on their Greek debt.

Euro zone leaders said on Thursday they had reached agreement on a comprehensive package of measures to tackle the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis.

Consumers in the United States and Canada have sued Research in Motion for a days-long service outage on BlackBerry devices that rippled across the world earlier this month.

Euro zone leaders struck a deal with private banks and insurers on Thursday for them to accept a 50 percent loss on holdings of Greek government bonds as part of a plan to lower Greece's debt burden and try to contain the two-year-old euro zone crisis.

The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was reviewing a proposal to help troubled homeowners by forgiving a portion of their outstanding mortgage debt, Democrats in the House of Representatives said on Wednesday.

Asian shares edged up and the euro steadied on Thursday after European leaders agreed to boost the region's rescue fund, but their failure to offer a detailed plan to recapitalize banks and reduce Greek debt to a sustainable level may keep gains limited.

Euro zone leaders and banks are close to reaching a deal on a 50 percent writedown for private bondholders on their Greek debt, an EU source said on Thursday.

Daily deals site Groupon is replacing the worst 10 percent of its sales staff as it pushes to win stronger deals from merchants and ensure it can keep growing, the company's chief executive told potential IPO investors on Wednesday.

The National Security Agency, a secretive arm of the U.S. military, has begun providing Wall Street banks with intelligence on foreign hackers, a sign of growing fears of financial sabotage.

Visa Inc said its revenues grew at a slower pace in the latest quarter and it paid more in client incentives, sending its shares lower even though the payment processing company posted better-than-expected net income.

The National Security Agency, a secretive arm of the U.S. military, has begun providing Wall Street banks with intelligence on foreign hackers, a sign of growing U.S. fears of financial sabotage.

Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bezos is thumbing his nose at Wall Street again and some investors don't like it.

Symantec Corp, the top maker of computer security software, failed to match Wall Street's high hopes for future sales growth even as the company benefits from a raised awareness of hackers.

Google Inc paid $151 million in cash to acquire popular restaurant review guide Zagat in September, the Internet company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

Visa Inc said on Wednesday quarterly net income rose by 14 percent, as the company processed more card payments and payment volumes increased.

Big investors are showing interest in an evolving Obama administration plan to sell off foreclosed homes, although the government will have to make the offer sweet enough to coax private funds.