MARKETS / FINANCE

Consumers tapped their savings in February to keep spending on an upward path for a fifth straight month, implying that consumption may be strong enough in coming months to keep a recovery going.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday as miners and energy companies advanced on dollar weakness and investors bought recent high fliers as the quarter's end approached.

U.S. securities regulators are demanding detailed reports from major financial firms in an attempt to uncover any accounting tricks like the Repo 105 method Lehman Brothers used to mask its losses.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday as miners and energy companies advanced on dollar weakness and investors bought recent high fliers as the quarter's end approached.

Greece on Monday sold 5 billion euros ($6.7 billion) of 7-year bonds with a looming Easter holiday and a subdued European market dampening demand in the first test of investor appetite since last week's EU-backed debt support deal.

The euro strengthened on Monday as debt-stricken Greece sold seven-year bonds, but investors remained anxious about the country's long-term ability to finance itself at affordable rates. After hitting a 10-month low below $1.33 last week, the euro rose above $1.35 on Monday as Greece returned to capital markets for the first time since euro zone leaders agreed to extend the southern European country a financial safety net.

The U.S. stock market rose on Monday as oil and copper prices surged.

Stocks rose on Monday as miners and energy companies advanced on dollar weakness and investors bought recent high fliers as the quarter's end approached.

The Treasury on Monday pledged to sell its 7.7 billion Citigroup Inc shares this year, a step that further reduces the government's influence on the banking giant.

Robert Moffat, a former senior executive of International Business Machines Corp whose phone conversations were recorded by the FBI in the Galleon hedge fund insider trading probe, pleaded guilty on Monday to securities fraud and conspiracy charges.

Stocks gained on Monday as investors picked up recent top performers before the first quarter's end and energy company shares jumped with oil prices.

Debt-stricken Greece won little respite from crippling borrowing costs when it returned to capital markets on Monday for the first time since euro zone leaders agreed to give it a last-resort financial safety net.

Consumer spending rose for the fifth consecutive month as the U.S. struggles to add new jobs.

Wall Street advanced on Monday as major energy companies shares jumped with the price of oil and investors snapped up top performers ahead of the first quarter's end.

Major UK banks face a challenge to refinance more than 300 billion pounds ($448.4 billion) of government-backed funding over the next two to three years, Fitch Ratings said in a report published on Monday.

China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has lined up total financing of $2.7 billion to back its purchase of Ford Motor's Volvo car unit, sources said on Monday.

In a significant development, BRIC nations, (Brazil, Russia, India, China) agreed to combat hunger and boost efforts to promote food security. Agriculture ministers of BRIC on Friday signed a global food security declaration here and also agreed to pool resources to combat famine that affects more than a billion people globally.

China National Textile and Apparel Council on Monday said any appreciation in the yuan will deal a heavy blow to China's powerful textile sector. In a report, China's leading textile industry association said there might be massive bankruptcies in the industry if the currency were to strengthen again.

Four Rio Tinto employees who were based in Shanghai were convicted on charges of receiving bribes and obtaining commercial secrets by Shanghai Number One Intermediate Court, Rio Tinto informed in a press release. Rio Tinto said it is unable to comment on the charge regarding obtaining commercial secrets as it has not had the opportunity to consider the evidence. That part of the trial was held in closed court and no details of the case were made public until the verdicts and sentences were annou...

International consortium led by Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of energy giant Gazprom, has requested Iraqi authorities to help clear mines at the Badra oil deposit, the Iraqi media reported on Sunday.

The International Energy Forum (IEF) will discuss major industry concerns including oil-price volatility and the outlook for supply and demand at is ministerial conference starts here Tuesday. The world's largest forum of energy producers and consumers, accounting for more than 90 percent of global oil and gas supply.

After the slump in gold prices in Kerala, jewelers are waiting for the demand to pick up after Easter (April 4) when Christian marriages will see a rise. During the 50-day lent period prior to Easter, Christians do not conduct marriages as this is not allowed by the Church. So, many marriages are lined up immediately after the Easter.

After receiving a glittering response for the initial public offering of the company, Shree Ganesh Jewellery House Ltd (SGJHL), is all set to leave landmarks in the Indian jewellery industry with its focus firm on jewellery making business with design innovation. India's jewellery business had been largely fragmented with many jewellery-makers operating on local levels. Only a few organized players are in the fray to tap the growing consumption demand of gold and silver. This has made it imminen...

Gold is glittering in China, the largest producer and second biggest consumer of the yellow metal in the world. There is a gold buying frenzy across China that the yellow metal is becoming the best investment bet in the country.

Greece looked set to sell 5 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in the first test of investor appetite since a European-IMF debt support deal last week but demand was less than half that of an issue earlier this month.

Bank of America Corp has hired four new executives in its global banking business, including three hires in Asia, as part of its continued push into international banking.

Socks gained on Monday as debt-stricken Greece launched a sovereign bond issue, easing worries about its problems, while investors were hopeful about key jobs data later this week.

Debt-stricken Greece returned to capital markets on Monday for the first time since euro zone leaders agreed to give it a financial safety net, but the foggy rescue plan did little to reduce its borrowing costs.

British fund firm Jupiter's high-profile investor in financial stocks, Philip Gibbs, has put more than half his fund into cash as uncertainty around the UK election and western government debt hamper visibility.