IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. financial reform should include some form of the Volcker rule, which would limit large financial firms' ability to engage in speculative trading, Thomas Hoenig, president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank said on Wednesday.

Two days after shutting its Chinese portal over censorship, Google Inc said it plans to phase out deals to provide filtered search services to other online or mobile firms in China.

Hundreds of computer geeks, most of them students putting themselves through college, crammed into three floors of an office building in an industrial section of Ukraine's capital Kiev, churning out code at a frenzied pace. They were creating some of the world's most pernicious, and profitable, computer viruses.

Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes fell for a fourth straight month to a record low in February, a government report showed on Wednesday, heightening fears of renewed weakness in the housing market.

Bank of America will on Wednesday announce plans to start forgiving mortgage loan principal for troubled homeowners who owe more than 120 percent of their home's value or are battling ever-expanding negative amortization loans.

J.M. Smucker Co on Wednesday said it would cut about 700 jobs, or 15 percent of its workforce, as it plans to revamp its supply chain in a bid to boost profitability of its leading brands.

A U.S. program aimed at helping struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure has been oversold by the Treasury Department and is likely to be a failure when it wraps up in 2012, a report from the watchdog overseeing the $700 billion bank bailout said on Tuesday.

(Reuters) - A jubilant President Barack Obama signed the most sweeping U.S. social policy legislation in decades into law on Tuesday, putting his name on a healthcare bill that will help shape his legacy and the Democrats' chances of holding on to power in Congress.

U.S. mortgage applications fell for a second straight week, with demand for home loan refinancing sinking to its lowest level in a month as interest rates jumped, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

(Reuters) - Women need to get at least an hour a day of moderate exercise if they hope to ward off the creep of extra pounds that comes with aging, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Fitch Ratings cut Portugal's sovereign credit rating by one notch to AA- on Wednesday, citing budgetary underperformance in 2009 and warning that a similar outcome this year and next could cause another downgrade.

(Reuters) - Drugmakers Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline signed a landmark 10-year deal on Tuesday to supply 60 million doses a year of cut-price pneumococcal vaccines to developing nations.

(Reuters) - Nordic scientists said on Wednesday they had found no evidence that screening women for breast cancer has any effect on death rates, adding to an already fierce international debate about routine testing.

Stocks fell on Wednesday after Portugal's credit rating was downgraded on budget concerns, prompting investors to pull back after recent gains.

* COMEX April GCJ0 down $12.20 at $1,091.50 an ounce at 9:48 a.m. EDT (1348 GMT). * Ranged $1,106 to $1,087.80 - lowest since Feb. 12. * Gold pressured as dollar jumped over 1 percent against the euro and a basket of currencies .DXY. [USD/] * Weak euro, losses in equities markets drag gold lower - Peter Buchanan, senior economist at CIBC World Markets. * U.S. currency extends gains after data showed new orders for durable goods rose for third straight month in February.

Thomas Hoenig, president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, said on Wednesday U.S. financial reform should include some form of the Volcker rule, which would limit large financial firms' ability to engage in speculative trading.

BRUSSELS, March 24 (Reuters) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made a new call on Wednesday for countries using the euro to create a safety net to help Greece if it needs financial assistance.

Chinese imports of refined copper increased by 12% in February, 2010 over a month earlier as the inbound shipments kept rising on the back of improved demand and steadily falling scrap supplies. Analsts believed that copper prices may get a boost on the increased imports by China.

Gold refineries are facing a strange problem in India now. There is no yellow metal for them to process now. When the gold boom was at its peak in 2008 and 2009, the quantity of scrap gold used to come to the market was very high and many refiners had increased the capacity to process the scrap gold.

Gold prices look well supported at $1100 and will hit its record high of $1,227 by mid-year and $1500 by year-end, according to Jeffrey Nichols, precious metals economist and Senior Economic Advisor to Rosland Capital.. However, the market will experience continued volatility with big swings in both direction around an upward trend this year and beyond, he added.

When it comes to investing in commodities market, everyone these days turns to Jim Rogers, the global investing legend on commodities. Rogers, author of bestselling books like Hot Commodities, A Bull in China, Investment Biker and Adventure Capitalist, is these days settled in Singapore. Rogers offers the most practical advice and information on commodities for beginners and seasoned investors. His books--especially Hot Commodities--are the best resources on how to read the commodities reports i...

At a time, when gold investments have just become sluggish in yielding returns over past few months, silver is now taking the driver's seat to take the bullion traders on a ride. After touching its historical high of over USD 1200 per ounce in late November and early December 2009, gold has remained range-bound between USD 1050 to USD 1150 per ounce, giving a stagnant feeling to the investors, whereas silver has remained more volatile compare to gold during the period. The grey metal has provide...

Top-five homebuilder Lennar Corp reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday and said it was on track to make a profit in 2010, sending shares up nearly 5 percent in early trading.

New orders for durable goods rose for the third straight month in February as businesses rebuilt inventories by the largest margin in more than a year, pointing to continued strength in manufacturing.

The trial of four Rio Tinto executives ended in Shanghai on Wednesday, with three contesting charges of stealing commercial secrets in a case that has highlighted China's sensitivities over its rich steel sector.

Starbucks Corp announced its first-ever dividend on Wednesday, joining food and beverage companies like McDonald's Corp and Coca-Cola Co in making payouts to shareholders.

Wall Street was poised to open lower on Wednesday after Portugal was downgraded one notch on budget concerns, amplifying jitters about the sovereign debt troubles of some European countries.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rose for the third straight month in February and inventories posted their biggest gain since December 2008, government data showed on Wednesday.

Bankers gathered in Dubai on Wednesday to hammer out a $26 billion debt plan with state-owned Dubai World as a repayment deadline loomed, adding to pressure on the glitzy emirate to settle the conglomerate's debt.