IBT Staff Reporter

The Australian Dollar opens higher on Monday at US92 cents after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) upgraded economic growth forecasts on Friday and U.S. unemployment came in worse than expected. The Aussie traded in a one cent band over the previous session (0.9090 - 0.9197) and was underpinned after the RBA said in its quarterly statement on monetary policy that GDP is set to expand by 1.75 per cent by the end of 2009 and to 3.25 per cent by the end of 2010. Markets viewed this as a sign that...

Nov 08, 2009

After a landmark win in the House of Representatives, President Barack Obama's push for healthcare reform faces a difficult path in the Senate amid divisions in his own Democratic Party on how to proceed.

Nov 08, 2009

As unemployment in the United States edges above 10 percent, anxious investors will look to earnings reports from major retailers for signs of life in the beaten-up consumer.

Nov 08, 2009

The chief executive of Goldman Sachs, which has attracted widespread media attention over the size of its staff bonuses, believes banks serve a social purpose and are doing God's work.

Nov 08, 2009

Authorities in Britain and Australia have requested information from UBS after the Swiss bank agreed in August to disclose some 4,450 client names to settle a U.S. tax case, the bank confirmed on Sunday.

Nov 08, 2009

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Saturday stressed the necessity of keeping global economic stimulus in place until recovery is assured and opposed the utility of a tax on financial transactions as a way to dampen risky bank behavior.

Nov 08, 2009

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Saturday stressed the necessity of keeping global economic stimulus in place until recovery is assured and opposed the utility of a tax on financial transactions as a way to dampen risky bank behavior.

Nov 08, 2009

China on Saturday shrugged off international pressure to appreciate its currency, saying developed countries should focus on the quality of their own economic policy-making. Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren, speaking after finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of 20 nations met in Scotland, said countries with global reserve currencies should work to maintain the currencies' value to avoid destabilising the world economy.

Nov 07, 2009

Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers pledged on Saturday to prepare strategies to end emergency support for their economies, but to keep the aid flowing until recovery was assured.

Nov 07, 2009

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Saturday stressed the necessity of keeping global economic stimulus in place until recovery is assured and opposed the utility of a tax on financial transactions as a way to dampen risky bank behavior.

Nov 07, 2009

Wall Street firms are in a quandary about getting involved with a planned public offering of Russian aluminum producer UC RUSAL because its founder has been barred from getting a U.S. visa on account of allegations that he is connected to organized crime, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Nov 07, 2009

Corruption costs developing nations $20 to $40 billion each year, while emerging markets and financial centers are increasingly havens for stolen assets, a top World Bank official said Saturday.

Nov 07, 2009

Joe Jackson, the elderly father of late pop star Michael Jackson, on Friday filed a court petition seeking an allowance from the singer's estate, saying his son had supported him for many years.

Nov 07, 2009

Bank regulators closed Gateway Bank of St. Louis, in St. Louis, Missouri, and Prosperan Bank, of Oakdale, Minnesota, on Friday, the 118th and 119th U.S. bank to fail this year.

Nov 07, 2009

An unseasonal gust of wind greets Alicia Keys as she steps out of a doorway behind a Beverly Hills hotel on a late October afternoon. Decked out in a black leather vest and black leggings brightly accented by turquoise suede knee-high boo a hint of matching eyeliner, the Grammy Award-winning singer is surprised by the chilly blast before she ducks into a waiting black sport utility vehicle. Commen...

Nov 07, 2009

Britain urged world governments on Saturday to consider a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, departing from long-held opposition, though there was little sign of the consensus needed to make it fly.

Nov 07, 2009

No one knows better than Yoko Ono how far celebrity activism has come in the last 40 years.

Nov 07, 2009

Cable television network A&E on Friday unveiled plans for a new reality TV show starring four brothers of late pop star Michael Jackson depicting them dealing with his death and rehearsing for an upcoming concert.

Nov 07, 2009

The U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 percent last month, a 26-1/2-year high, adding to pressure on the Obama administration to do more to tackle unemployment even as signs of recovery mount.

Nov 07, 2009

World governments should consider urgently a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday, departing from London's longstanding resistance to a global tax.

Nov 07, 2009

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said high unemployment rates show that economic recovery is still perilous and governments need to maintain stimulus as long as necessary to ensure sustained growth.

Nov 07, 2009

World governments should consider urgently a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday, departing from London's longstanding resistance to a global tax.

Nov 07, 2009

Small wind energy companies could be taken over cheap because fresh funding for the sector is set to flow selectively to bigger names, placing them in a stronger negotiating position.

Nov 07, 2009

Software, biotech firms and others who develop new ways to do business will be watching closely on Monday as the U.S. Supreme Court hears a case that could determine if such innovations can win patent protection

Nov 07, 2009

Bank regulators closed Gateway Bank of St. Louis, in St. Louis, Missouri, and Prosperan Bank, of Oakdale, Minnesota, on Friday, the 118th and 119th U.S. bank to fail this year.

Nov 06, 2009

As unemployment in the United States edges above 10 percent, anxious investors will look to earnings reports from major retailers for signs of life in the beaten-up consumer.

Nov 06, 2009

Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP posted a forecast-beating quarterly profit on Friday and said it is gearing up for more deals and IPOs as the lending and equity markets recover.

Nov 06, 2009

Bank regulators closed Home Federal Savings Bank, of Detroit, on Friday, the 117th U.S. bank to fail this year as deteriorating loans continue to take their toll on financial institutions.

Nov 06, 2009

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said it plans to limit the amount of business underwritten by its reinsurance operations, as it prepares to spend roughly $26 billion to buy railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.

Nov 06, 2009