CONSUMER PRICE INDEX

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week in a sign concerns about a weak economy were sapping an already beleaguered labor market, data showed on Thursday.

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week in a sign concerns about a weak economy were sapping an already beleaguered labor market, data showed on Thursday.

Claims for unemployment benefits last week rose more than expected, hitting their highest level in more than two months. In addition, manufacturing in a key northeastern region fell more quickly than expected, developments that may pressure the Federal Reserve to try to stimulate business activity.

China's bank lending quickened to 548.5 billion yuan ($86 billion)in August, topping market expectations of 500 billion yuan and rebounding from July'sseven-month low, pointing to a slight relaxation in credit conditions for the nation's businesses.

China's inflation pulled back in August from a three-year high while economic activity slowed, underlining expectations that the central bank can hold off on further tightening of monetary policy in the face of a global economic slowdown.

China's inflation pulled back in August from a three-year high, underlining expectations that price pressures have peaked and the central bank can hold off on further tightening of monetary policy in the face of a global economic slowdown.

The yuan's recent gains are helping to tame China's inflation but it is too early to conclude that Beijing has won its battle to cool price pressures, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Monday.

Slumping export demand slowed factory activity in some of Asia's biggest economies in August, although China fared better thanks to solid domestic growth, a series of surveys released on Thursday showed.

China's central bankers have found a new way of keeping banks from lending too much, a step Beijing hopes will help it tackle the country's persistent inflation woes.

China's Lion Fund Management Co will launch next week the country's first mutual fund that invests in overseas oil and gas-related assets, as Chinese money managers step up innovation to woo investors haunted by inflation concerns.

The booming eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang has ordered a rise in taxi fares in cities and counties with underpriced cabs following a wave of strikes by drivers demanding higher wages, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday.

Can an earthquake influence the ups and downs of the stock market?

Stocks closed moderately higher today. Compared to the past week, we won’t complain about any advance in the market – however small.

The stock market inched back up this morning as bargain hunters scoured the Big Board for victims of last week’s crash.

Inflation in Morocco jumped to 1.8 percent in July from a year earlier, exceeding the average forecast for 2011 for the first time this year, due mainly to a surge in food prices, the state High Planning Commission (HCP) said on Friday.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, according to a government report released Thursday that suggested hiring in August was steady but not robust.

The number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits rose last week and consumer prices increased at the fastest pace in four months in July, highlighting the challenges facing the Federal Reserve.

The number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits rose last week and consumer prices increased at the fastest pace in four months in July, highlighting the challenges facing the Federal Reserve.

Gold soared to a new record Thursday as the stock market plummeted on concerns that European banking woes could spread to the United States.

Traders on the U.S. futures market bid up the price of gold to a record high early Thursday on continued concern about the slowing economies of both Europe and the United States.

Shares of exchange-traded funds back by gold and silver rose in premarket trading Thursday as the U.S. government reported a higher-than-expected increase in inflation and an increase in jobless claims.