Hao Li

The euro zone has fallen into a technical recession, according to Eurocoin, an economic activity indicator, confirming the economic weakness of the battered region.

The perception, driven by bonds' performance, that the euro's success would continue unabated was shattered beginning in October 2009, when Greece’s 10-year yields soared to 10.3 percent. Today, U.S. policymakers may be making the same mistake in failing to recognize threats of a coming financial crisis.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (TYO:9501), or Tepco, operator of the failed Fukushima nuclear power plant, has asked the Japanese government for in additional bailout money to pay for mounting expenses, including compensation costs to victims of the nuclear meltdown.

The Swiss pharmaceutical company increased its unsolicited offer for gene-sequencing company Illumina Inc. to $51 a share, 15 percent above Roche's initial bid in January.

AuRico Gold Inc (NYSE:AUQ), a North American gold producer, reported higher earnings for the fourth quarter and the 2011 year on increased production.

The long-term view on gas is bright, and experts say now is the time to invest in the commodity. Gas prices have fallen sharply in recent years, to as low as $2.18 per 1 million BTU this year.

Pentair, Inc. (NYSE: PNR), a diversified industrial company, will merge with Tyco International Ltd.'s (NYSE:TYC) flow control business in a deal expected to generate significant savings through synergies, the companies said in a statement.

Italy's weak bond auction Tuesday signaled that investors remain concerned about the country and the euro zone region overall.

The investment gives Mubadala Development Corp. a 5.63 percent equity interest in Eike Batista's U.S.-based Centennial Asset Brazilian Equity Fund, gaining exposure to the fast-growing Brazilian economy.

Bob Rodriguez, CEO of Los Angeles investment firm First Pacific Advisors, fears that loose U.S. money policy could lead to fiscal catastrophes in coming years.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, previously reluctant to expand the size of euro zone bailout funds, agreed to support a €200 billion ($265 billion) increase of the firewall on Monday.

The Ifo Business Climate Index in Germany, a key business confidence report from one of the largest think tanks in the country, showed little change in March from February, indicating the slowdown in recovery.

Gold-mining stocks may be the most attractive way for investors to boost their stake in gold, especially if they are concerned about inflation. Investing profitably is not simply a matter of picking an attractive asset -- the asset must also be purchased at an attractive price.

Drugmaker Roche Holdings AG will cut the prices of two major cancer drugs in India after the country’s regulators stripped industry rival Bayer AG of its exclusive rights to market its own cancer drug, reported Reuters, which cited a company spokesperson.

The MIT-trained Xie accurately predicted Japan's asset bubble of the 1980s, the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the deflation of the dot-com bubble and the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.

Oprah Winfrey's cable network could lose $142.9 million this year amid weak ratings for its programming, SNL Financial, a financial information firm, said Thursday.

ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG), a major U.S. packaged food giant, reported higher third-quarter earnings as it raised the prices of its products, even as volume softened.

China's skein of trade surpluses and Treasury-buying has run its course and the country will need to begin selling some of its vast holdings of U.S. debt, says Frederick Sheehan, ex-head of asset allocation at John Hancock Financial Services.

It's almost unthinkable that the U.S. government will continue to sustain current levels of spending, and the reduction will lead to diminished profit margins of companies, asset manager James Montier of GMO writes.

Hewlett-Packard plans to combine its imaging and printing operations with its Personal Systems Group, according to technology-news site AllThingsD.

Major indexes across Europe were down Tuesday on negative news regarding an expected slowdown in Chinese economic growth.

Some economists predict that if Greece and its European Union partners can't agree on a debt reduction plan, the country may have to default in a disorderly manner and exit the euro currency.

The European financial crisis has seemingly abated after Greece scored an orderly default on €100 billion ($132 billion) worth of its debt and the European Central Bank (ECB) injected banks with €530 billion in three-year loans.

Directors of the U.K. banking-software company accepted a £1.27 billion ($2 billion) cash bid from San Francisco private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners that represents a 6 percent premium to Misys's closing price Friday.

The current, unprecedented level of global youth unemployment has raised the risk of creating a lost generation, Nemat Shafik, deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, wrote in a blog post Thursday.

India's budget proposal for 2012, although containing a few welcomed provisions, failed to convince the world that the ruling Indian National Congress party will make meaningful policy changes to tackle the country's structural problems.

The prominent economist's main fear isn't the European debt crisis, a hard landing in China or faltering U.S. economic growth but a possible military showdown between Iran and Israel. A war in the Middle East could send oil prices soaring and cause a global recession.

The S&P 500 Index rallied above 1,400 for the first time since June 2008 on the back of improvements in the U.S. jobs market.

In August 2011, famed economist Nouriel Roubini put the probability of a U.S. double-dip recession in 2012 at 60 percent.