IBT Staff Reporter

The euro fell sharply versus Swiss franc on Monday and safe-haven U.S. and German government bond yields hit new lows after much weaker than expected growth numbers from Japan added to worries over a faltering global economic recovery.

Aug 16, 2010

Will the gold bull run continue? This is the billion dollar question haunting many investors across the globe. There are conflicting reports from various quarters. A report in Press and Journal says that despite a recent dip, the price of gold has still risen by 25% over the past year, by 175% over five years and by a staggering 340% over 10 years.

Aug 16, 2010

Lowe's Cos missed quarterly profit and sales estimates as benefits from the homebuyer tax credit and cash for appliances programs waned, and the retailer warned of uncertain demand.

Aug 16, 2010

Mining giant Vedanta Resources will spend up to $9.6 billion acquiring as much as 60 percent of Cairn India , branching out into oil and gas and delivering a cash windfall to its current owners.

Aug 16, 2010

The euro hovered near one-month lows against the dollar and fell sharply versus a broadly firmer Swiss franc on Monday, amid heightened sensitivity to risk in euro zone bond markets. The premium investors demand to hold 10-year Irish and Greek government bonds rather than German Bunds rose on Monday, while the cost of insuring their debt against default also increased.

Aug 16, 2010

Japan's economic growth slowed to a crawl in the second quarter and analysts see more weakness ahead, adding to policymakers' headaches as they grapple with deflation and a rise in the yen that threatens an export-reliant recovery.

Aug 16, 2010

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday as worries about the global economy persisted. At 0900 GMT (5 a.m. EDT) futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq were 0.3 to 0.4 percent lower.

Aug 16, 2010

Oil edged above $75 a barrel on Monday boosted by a weaker dollar, but concerns about faltering economic recovery in some big oil consuming nations capped gains. The economy of Japan expanded by a mere 0.1 percent in the second quarter. That followed a string of tepid U.S. indicators last week that helped oil prices fall by more than 6 percent, the biggest weekly drop since early July.

Aug 16, 2010

Hulu is planning an initial public offering which could value the U.S. video viewing site at more than $2 billion, the New York Times said.

Aug 16, 2010

Europe is set to ramp up economic surveillance to prevent a repeat of the region's recent debt crisis, European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark said on Monday.

Aug 16, 2010

Gold rose to its strongest in more than a month on Monday as pessimism about the global economic recovery sparked buying from investors, but selling from jewelers could cap gains. Holdings in the world's largest bullion-backed ETF, SPDR Gold Trust, were unchanged, suggesting that some investors were happy to hold on to bullion after recent U.S. economic data pointed to weakness in the economy.

Aug 16, 2010

The euro recovered from near one-month lows against the dollar on Monday, aided by a bounce in equity markets, but rallies were hampered by sovereign sales and concerns about the euro zone periphery. The single currency initially headed lower for a sixth straight day before a slight recovery in European dealing.

Aug 16, 2010

Oil rose toward $76 on Monday, boosted by a weaker dollar, while a fall in Asian stock markets on news of a slowdown in Japan's economic growth capped gains. The economy of Japan, the world's third-largest oil user, slowed to a crawl in the second quarter, up a smaller-than-expected 0.1 percent, knocking down the Nikkei by about 0.6 percent and adding to concerns about a faltering recovery in some major oil consuming nations.

Aug 16, 2010

A consortium of leading Chinese companies including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd <1398.HK><601398.SS>, China Life Insurance Co Ltd <2628.HK> <601628.SS>, plans to bid for a 30 percent stake in American International Group Ltd's Asian life insurance business, AIA, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Monday.

Aug 16, 2010

Aug 16, 2010

The organization of state insurance regulators issued a consumer alert about retained assets accounts , days after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said life insurers using the product should reveal more information.

Aug 16, 2010

U.S. Treasuries edged up in Asia on Monday, with the long-end of the yield curve flattening slightly after grim growth figures in Japan underscored the deflationary forces gripping the global economy.

Aug 16, 2010

The yen rose broadly on Monday as high-yielding currencies and Asian equities faltered, with talk of possible demand from Japanese exporters and investor fund repatriation also giving the yen a boost. Data showing that Japan's economic growth slowed markedly in April-June helped drag Tokyo shares lower. The dip in equities gave support to the yen, which is a funding currency for carry trades and tends to rise in times of market stress.

Aug 16, 2010

The U.S. dollar was holding most of last week's hefty gains in Asia on Monday with shares in the region likely to follow Wall Street lower and add to the general mood of risk aversion. Still, the early inclination was to take some profits on the dollar, and its index .DXY drifted down by 0.120 percent. That follows a 3.2 pct surge last week, which was the strongest performance since late 2008.

Aug 16, 2010

Gold prices climbed towards $1220 an ounce mark in Asian trade Monday after concerns over economic recovery prompted safe haven buying. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1219.02 an ounce at 12.00 noon Singapore time while U.S. gold futures for December delivery was at $1,221.1 on the comex division of Nymex.

Aug 16, 2010

On the leafy fringes of Hong Kong in a shabby film studio, a nude ponytailed actor stretched out on animal-skins with his lover as the cameras rolled in a set evoking a subterranean sex lair in ancient China.

Aug 16, 2010

LOS ANGELES - Perhaps it's fitting that while the stock market was tanking last week, shares of Netflix were touching all-time highs. What else to expect from a company that is remaking Hollywood's home-distribution model?

Aug 16, 2010

Japan's economic growth slowed to a crawl in the second quarter and analysts see more weakness ahead, adding to policymakers' headaches as they grapple with deflation and a rise in the yen that threatens an export-reliant recovery.

Aug 15, 2010

Bank of America Corp is considering whether to reduce its stake in asset manager BlackRock Inc , which is viewed as a non-core asset, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday.

Aug 15, 2010

As a fitness professional, I'm always amazed (and puzzled) with the conflict people seem to have with losing weight, yet they refuse to stop eating junk food.

Aug 15, 2010

According to a team of scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, the link between obesity and diabetes may be explained by the inflammation-causing cells in fat tissue.

Aug 15, 2010

I know that all of the elliptical and treadmill worshipers are probably fuming at me now after that article headline, but the fact is, ellipticals and treadmills are one of the least effective methods of working out in existence.

Aug 15, 2010

Bank of America Corp is weighing a possible reduction in its holdings of BlackRock Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the situation.

Aug 15, 2010

A type of fluorescent shallow-water corals found at the Lord Howe Island, 400 miles east of Australia could lend vital health-beneficial clue in the development of potential cancer-fighting drugs and may shed light to the understanding of global warming, says researcher from the University of Western Sydney.

Aug 15, 2010