A tumultuous 12 months that saw revolutions in the Middle East, a worsening debt crisis in Europe and a tsunami in Japan has set the tone for corporate activity in 2012.
The new Swiss National Bank chief could be named in February, sooner than had been expected after the resignation of former chairman Philipp Hildebrand this month, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
The Justice Department issued civil subpoenas to 11 financial institutions as part of a new effort to investigate misconduct in the packaging and sale of home loans to investors, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Friday.
Roche Holding AG's rivals Sanofi SA and Novartis AG see no need to match the Swiss drug maker in buying a gene-decoding business like Illumina Inc and reckon they can do partnerships instead.
Greece and its private creditors made progress Thursday in talks on restructuring its debt, both sides said, and they will continue negotiating on Friday with the aim of sealing an agreement within a few days.
Stocks fell on Thursday, interrupting a recent rally, as investors booked profits after weaker-than-expected housing data.
Roche Holding AG is offering $5.7 billion in cash to buy U.S. gene sequencing company Illumina Inc in an unfriendly takeover bid that marks a major play by the Swiss drugmaker into the gene technology field.
The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: F5 Networks, Xilinx, Riverbed Technology, Golar LNG, Altera, Logitech International, eBay, and Apple. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Neurocrine Biosciences, Vodafone Group, Research In Motion, and Huntington Bancshares.
China's GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2011 dipped to 8.9 percent, down from 9.1 percent in the prior quarter, but the Chinese government will likely take steps to ensure that a slowdown does not harm global manufacturers that increasingly look to China for new consumers.
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, is cutting around a fifth of its managing directors across its Asia investment banking division, sources said on Monday, in a bid to cut costs as the outlook sours in a once-booming region.
Chinese exports and imports registered weaker growth in December than in November, signaling economic growth in the world's second largest economy is losing steam on account of sluggish demand and a thaw in the real estate market.
Data
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch is cutting around a fifth of its managing directors across its Asia investment banking division, sources said Monday, in a bid to cut costs as the outlook sours in a once-booming region.
Gold recovered from lows on Monday, lifted by gains in the euro versus the dollar after French and German leaders said there had been progress on the region's fiscal integration, but its rise was capped by caution after the metal's hefty losses last month.
European stocks were essentially flat on Monday at mid-day in choppy trade, bouncing from last week's sharp pull-back, with gains in defensives limited by a drop in banking shares led by Unicredit following its rights issue.
Japan's Nikkei share average slipped more than 1 percent on Friday, backing further away from its 25-day moving average as investors fretted over the euro zone debt crisis and weakness in the single currency.
The deteriorating global growth outlook has meant the underperformance of the platinum group metals relative to gold, although supply disruptions could provide some relief to weaker demand. Of the PGM group, palladium is more likely to outperform in 2012, given its stronger links to U.S. and Chinese demand.
Deutsche Bank said Friday negative real interest rates, central bank buying, dollar weakness and prospects for a European Central Bank balance sheet expansion augur well for gold prices to achieve a 12th consecutive annual gain.
Japan's Nikkei share average slipped more than 1 percent on Friday, backing further away from its 25-day moving average as investors fretted over the euro zone debt crisis and weakness in the single currency.
A brewing crisis in the Middle East is causing an almost daily uptick in oil prices but early signs of a rebound in the U.S. economy is indeed offering substantial tailwind to crude too.
As Wall Street anxiously awaits the Labor Department's monthly employment report due on Friday, a decent bet has emerged. Odds are, the government will say it underestimated recent job gains.
New claims for jobless benefits rose last week but the underlying trend pointed to an improving labor market, while regional factory data showed the economy gaining momentum as the year ended.
European shares tracked Wall Street into the red in light trade on Wednesday, with auto makers the steepest fallers as investors cashed in on a recent rally.
