MARKETS / FINANCE

RadioShack Corp is exploring alternatives including a share buyback or a possible sale of the company that could net more than $3 billion, the New York Post said, citing sources close to the situation.

Consumer sentiment ended unchanged in March from February, a survey released on Friday showed, while the reading slightly beat expectations.

Stocks advanced on Friday as a standby aid package announced by euro zone leaders eased worries about Greece's debt problems and U.S. consumer sentiment data signaled the recovery was intact.

Nabucco Consortium said it will start the construction of the gas pipeline from the Caspian region to Europe. Nabucco Managing Director Reinhard Mitschek said, We are aiming to start with the construction at the end of 2011 and we'll expect first gas to flow at the end of 2014. The Nabucco Consortium has no indication to shift the current timeline.

India, world's largest producer of aromatic, premier variety basmati rice, is planning to expand its market by exporting to two more countries and increasing shipments to existing country, said APFPEDA official on Friday. State run Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APFPEDA) said that Mexico has contracted for the basmati rice and China is expected to open a market for premium rice soon.

Demand for gold bars and gold coins is rising in major yellow metal consuming nations like China and India as investors are leaving the paper gold-exchange traded funds or Gold ETFs for physical gold. In India, sale of gold coins and gold bars is increasing despite the high price of gold. A recent Commodity Online study said that buying of gold coins has increased across jewellery shops, banks and post offices in India thanks to financial year schemes. In India, the financial year closes on Marc...

The crumbling empire of American International Group Inc is helping to pave Wall Street with gold.

The Obama administration on Friday announced a $14 billion effort to try to stem a rising tide of home foreclosures by giving lenders incentives to erase some mortgage debt and slash mortgage payments for the unemployed.

Stocks rose on Friday after euro zone leaders agreed to create a safety net to help debt-burdened Greece, while data showed consumer sentiment rose slightly more than expected in March.

News Corp will charge readers for online versions of its UK Times and Sunday Times newspapers from June, becoming the first media firm to test consumers' appetite to pay for mass-market news online.

UBS adviser Chuck Huebner knew he was done with big brokerages when some supervisors questioned a stock he had purchased for one of his clients. The offending equity? Berkshire Hathaway.

Wall Street was poised to open higher on Friday after euro zone leaders agreed to create a safety net to help debt-burdened Greece, while investors awaited data on consumer sentiment.

After a sideways range in the morning between 1.3283 and 1.3347 the cross-pair broke out into the direction of „northern regions, but nothing more. This was not a trading day as I expected before.Alltogether the cross-pair recovered of its blessures. Supported by political announcements of financial help for Greece of the EU. In the evening EURUSD reached about 1.3280.

Euro zone leaders won muted approval from financial markets on Friday for their agreement to create a safety net for debt-ridden Greece, but a row over the IMF's role flared up just as it had seemed settled.

Stock index futures rose on Friday after euro zone leaders agreed to create a safety net to help debt-burdened Greece, while investors awaited data on consumer sentiment.

U.S. electronics retailer RadioShack Corp is exploring strategic alternatives that include a share buyback or a possible sale of the company that could net more than $3 billion, the New York Post said, citing sources close to the situation.

Los Angeles's justice department is scrutinizing certain investment transactions of public pension funds, including Calpers, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

China reaffirmed its determination on Friday to keep the yuan steady, rejecting U.S. arguments that a stronger exchange rate is needed to help iron out global trade imbalances.

Oil tried to sustain forays above $81 with Brent briefly jumping over $1 as confidence over a deal to help debt-ridden Greece was tempered by worries the global recovery could still falter and keep crude demand weak.

Euro zone leaders received a cautious stamp of approval from financial markets on Friday for their agreement to create a safety net with the International Monetary Fund to help debt-ridden Greece.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2 to 0.3 percent, pointing to a firmer start on Wall Street on Friday.

General Motors Co expects to repay $1 billion to the U.S. Treasury on Wednesday, attempting to settle the loan with the government ahead of schedule, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a person familiar with the plan.

Swiss banking giant UBS AG has slashed about 200 jobs in its U.S. brokerage unit, a source told Reuters.

The White House plans to announce on Friday that it will require lenders to lower the mortgage payments of some unemployed workers and encourage lenders to eliminate some principal debt of homeowners who owe more than their home is worth, sources familiar with the plan said on Thursday.

China could move again to greater flexibility in its currency regime but needs to take domestic factors such as employment into account when deciding whether to do so, a central bank adviser said in remarks published on Friday. In an op-ed article titled Toying with yuan won't help us, Fan Gang, the only academic member of the People's Bank of China's monetary policy committee, wrote that a rise in the currency itself was not a solution for U.S. economic problems, including employment.

Euro zone leaders agreed on Thursday to create a joint financial safety net with the IMF to help debt-ridden Greece and to try to restore confidence in their common currency after weeks of wrangling.

The next phase of the financial reform debate opened on Thursday in Congress as Democrats worked to divide Republicans and break off just enough support to get a bill moving in the Senate.

Euro zone leaders agreed on a joint European-IMF financial safety net for debt-stricken Greece on Thursday after weeks of wrangling, hoping to restore confidence in their common currency.

The Aussie dollar clawed back some of its losses in Asia yesterday climbing back above 91 cents as commodity prices steadied and the RBA painted a positive picture of the Australian economy.