MARKETS / FINANCE

Stock index futures fell on Friday after China surprised global markets by increasing banks' reserve requirements, raising worries about the impact of eventual monetary tightening on global growth.

South Korea aims to set up a global grain purchasing and distribution company that can better insulate the country from fallout from global price hikes. According to state-run agriculture trading corporation, Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp, the plan calls for the new grain handling company to set up an international distribution network in the next 10 years.

The 1200 km long Baltic natural gas project received its final approval Friday as Finland gave permission to the $10.6 billion project. Finnish environmental department gave permission for the project, paving the way for construction of the between Russia and Germany. The southern Finnish Regional State Administrative Agency said that it had granted Nord Stream a permit to build the pipeline through Finland's economic zone in the Baltic Sea.

The World Gold Council (WGC) has published 'Gold for Good: Gold and nanotechnology in the age of innovation', a research paper detailing new scientific and technological innovations using gold. The report, which was produced in conjunction with Cientifica Ltd, the world's leading source of global business and investor intelligence about nanotechnologies, demonstrates how gold nanoparticles offer the potential to overcome many of the serious issues facing mankind over the coming decades.

China raised the level of reserves banks must hold for the second time this year on Friday, spooking financial markets on the eve of its New Year holiday by showing it was intent to curb lending and inflation.

Europe's post-recession recovery hit a roadblock on Friday as German economic growth unexpectedly halted and Italy went into reverse in the final quarter of 2009, knocking total euro zone GDP growth almost flat.

Stock index futures fell on Friday after China surprised global markets by increasing banks' reserve requirements, raising worries about the impact of eventual monetary tightening on global growth.

Stock index futures pointed to a mostly lower open for U.S. shares on Friday, following strong gains in the previous session, as a pledge by European leaders to support Greece eased worries about a crisis in the euro zone.

A holder of Six Flags preferred shares asked a federal judge to appoint a trustee to run the bankrupt theme park operator because current management has breached its fiduciary duty and suffers conflicts of interest.

The brother and sons of imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff are the subject of criminal tax-fraud cases by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

A former Goldman Sachs Group programer was indicted on charges he stole computer code for the investment bank's high-frequency trading platform, federal prosecutors said on Thursday.

Toyota Motor said on Friday its embattled head is planning a U.S. trip early next month but would not confirm whether he would attend congressional hearings probing the automaker's safety recalls.

Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, facing criminal and civil charges in a multimillion dollar insider-trading probe, won an emergency order relieving him from having to immediately turn over wiretap recordings in the civil case.

A federal judge weighing a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $150 million settlement with Bank of America Corp has demanded more details on why bank shareholders were left in the dark about problems at Merrill Lynch & Co before approving that company's takeover.

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America Corp to answer questions about their proposed $150 million settlement to resolve the regulator's two lawsuits over the Merrill Lynch & Co takeover.

In an unusual move that cut a senior Republican out of the loop, bipartisan U.S. Senate negotiations resumed on Thursday on financial regulation reform, a top priority of the Obama administration.

Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, facing criminal and civil charges in a multimillion dollar insider-trading probe, filed a notice of appeal against a U.S. judge's order that he turn over wiretap evidence in the civil case.

Stocks rose on Thursday after a pledge by European leaders to support debt-laden Greece eased fears of a broader euro zone crisis and upbeat data from China spurred mining and material stocks.

Google Inc has acquired Aardvark, a San Francisco start-up whose service melds Internet search and social networking.

Ohio-based power company FirstEnergy Corp plans to buy Pennsylvania's Allegheny Energy Inc for $4.7 billion in stock to create one of the largest U.S. utilities, but regulatory hurdles loom.

Philip Morris International Inc posted higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Thursday and announced a new $12 billion share repurchase program, sending its shares up more than 4 percent.

The U.S. stock market enjoyed a solid rally today as a better than expected unemployment claims and a retreating dollar lifted commodities stocks.

President Barack Obama on Thursday warned the country's recovery would not be complete until more citizens find work and the United States borrows less money from other countries.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday after a pledge by European leaders to support debt-laden Greece eased fears of a broader euro zone crisis and upbeat data from China spurred mining and material stocks.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, welcome news for the White House as it predicted more than a million jobs will be created this year.

Commodities stocks continue to be the best performing in Thursday's U.S. stock market while financials, especially European banks, still lag.

A Paris tribunal found Ebay Inc guilty of misleading consumers by using misspelt versions of luxury brand Louis Vuitton as search engine key words to redirect users to Ebay website links.

President Barack Obama will sign an executive order establishing a commission to tackle the federal government's long-term fiscal challenges in the next 10 days or so, the White House said on Thursday. Obama, who hopes to persuade Republicans as well as members of his own Democratic party to serve on the debt panel, had been expected to set it up this week. But this plan was disrupted by a severe winter storm that dumped heavy snow on Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

The euro fell against the dollar on Thursday as investors were disappointed with the lack of details regarding a European Union deal to support heavily-indebted Greece. The euro zone currency also dropped against the yen and sterling after European leaders sought to prop up Greece with words of support at a summit on Thursday, but failed to make concrete pledges, describing the promise of support as a political statement.