MARKETS / FINANCE

Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Hoenig said on Wednesday that an improving economy will likely make it possible for more banks to begin lending in greater volume.

The wreckage of Wall Street's subprime mortgage machine was laid bare on Wednesday by a U.S. congressional panel that pointed the finger at Alan Greenspan for not stopping it from running out of control.

The U.S. auditor watchdog on Wednesday issued an alert to corporate accounting firms, reminding them to watch for fraud or misstatements if they detect significant unusual transactions when doing their work.

U.S. stocks fell in a broad late-day drop on Wednesday after a top Federal Reserve official said interest rates should not stay low for much longer, giving investors an excuse to take profits.

U.S. stocks fell in a broad late-day drop on Wednesday after a top Federal Reserve official said interest rates should not stay low for much longer, giving investors an excuse to take profits.

The U.S. economy still faces significant headwinds, including a housing sector that has yet to recover convincingly and an ailing employment market, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks fell in a broad late-day drop on Wednesday after a top Federal Reserve official said interest rates should not stay low for much longer, giving investors an excuse to take profits.

Google Inc was sued by photographers, illustrators and other visual artists who claim the Web search company is scanning and displaying their work online without paying them.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc issued a spirited defense in its annual shareholder letter against allegations that it had benefited unduly from government help and bet against its own clients during the financial crisis.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Wednesday on investors' worries over Greece's debt load, making it impossible for the market to hold gains after strong demand at a Treasury note auction.

Google Inc has won another round in a patent fight with a company called Bid for Position, which had accused Google of infringing a patent with its AdWords advertising system.

U.S. chief executive officers are feeling more confident about the economy, with more of them planning to add rather than cut jobs over the next six months, a Business Roundtable survey released on Wednesday found.

Greece's borrowing costs hit a new high on Wednesday after the government said the country's banks had asked for billions of euros in support and euro zone states argued over the conditions of potential bailout loans.

Tumbling technology costs have opened potentially lucrative ultra-fast trading strategies to tiny startup players, fuelling growth of the opaque and controversial business across Europe and the United States.

Tumbling technology costs have opened potentially lucrative ultra-fast trading strategies to tiny start-up players, fuelling growth of the opaque and controversial business across Europe and the United States.

Stocks were near break even on Wednesday as strong demand for a $21 billion Treasury auction partly offset renewed worries over Greece's finances.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the U.S. economy still faces significant headwinds, including a housing sector that has yet to recover convincingly and an ailing employment market.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday on renewed worries over Greece's finances and another big Treasury debt auction.

In an attempt to end trade dispute with China, world's top soy oil exporter Argentina asked the dragon nation to suspend its decision to halt soy oil imports. Argentina's foreign ministry in a statement said the decision is of great concern and urged Beijing to suspend the measure and ensure it does not come into force. Last week, a Chinese trade body urged traders not to buy Argentine soy oil in retaliation for the country's decision to restrict imports of Chinese products ranging from shoes to...

Pakistan's raw cotton exports surged during July-March 2010 and also fetched the highest-ever price in the international market due to quality, according to Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). In a report, TDAP said the country exported around 899,290 cotton bales till March 31, 2010 to India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and Central Asia.

On Tuesday, news agencies reported that London Metal Exchange copper rallied to a 20-month high above $8,000 a tonne. This rally is a hint for the things to come in the new financial year. If you take note of the new trend in copper market, the metal has jumped 165% from its low during the bad days of late 2008 and early 2009. Along with that, lead and nickel also climbed 150%, and zinc has jumped 125% .

One of the world's leading miner, BHP Billiton has hugely hiked iron ore price for some of its Asian customers for second quarter in 2010. According to sources, BHP has managed to secure a 99.7 per cent price hike for iron ore, up from the $60-a-tonne price settled through the annual contract system for 2009-10.

The upbeat movement in steel prices in the last one month created much debate as the price rise in the key input to varied industries including automobile, real estate, consumer durables, has created ripples of turbulence across the sectors. But it is evident from the global coal scenario that steel prices may continue to dent the profitability of key sectors in India.

World's largest oil consumer, the US increased its crude oil price forecast for 2010 on projections of a speedy global economic recovery. In its monthly Short- Term Energy Outlook, the US Energy Department said the West Texas Intermediate oil, the US benchmark, will average $80.74 per barrel this year, up from last month's forecast of $80.06.

Amid looming fuel shortages, Uganda on Tuesday announced fresh plans to sell the Jinja Oil Reserves. In a statement, Uganda's energy ministry said the government does not have the money to maintain the reserves. This will not be the first time that the country's oil reserves are being put up for sale. The earlier deal that was awarded to Libya's Tamoil to manage the reserves was cancelled by the government following procurement irregularities.

Indonesia's Energy ministry said Wednesday it will auction 35 new oil and gas fields later in the year. In a statement, country's Energy ministry announced the maximum 35 blocks planned to be auctioned this year. Of the 35 blocks, 19 are to be offered under regular tender procedures and the remaining 16 blocks are planned to be offered under joint study mechanisms.

At a time when gold prices are showing a downfall, in the US the gold coins business is roaring. Does it have anything to do with the gold scam which rocked the world last month. It seems so. Gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) and future trading are under the shadow for the past few weeks due to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission hearing where gold cartels were exposed by some traders. In fact investors have been short-changed by big cartels during the past many years, especially during...

The world has been hit with recession, subprime crisis, bubbles, inflation, deflation and stock market crashes in the last 10 years. But one asset has withstood the economic turmoil and remained as the most robust investment vehicle for the poor and the rich alike in the world is, of course, gold.

A top U.S. trade official said on Wednesday he will raise industry concerns about China's indigenous innovation policies that threaten U.S. intellectual property rights when he visits Beijing next week. What we're trying to do with the Chinese is address the very serious concerns that have been raised, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis said in remarks to the Washington International Trade Association.