INVESTMENT

Foes of Newmont Mining's $4.8 billion Conga mine project in Peru said on Wednesday they were practically kidnapped by counterterrorism police in a crackdown on left-wing activists by President Ollanta Humala.

U.S. banks want regulators to give them more time to liquidate investments in certain private equity funds under the Volcker rule, arguing that without more leeway they will have to hold fire sales.

To hear it from one side, private equity and hedge fund managers are under a veritable siege: under attack from politicians, regulators, an ornery market and uneasy clients. But the hedge fund managers themselves seem to be saying all is good in Greenwich.

Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday on optimism that European leaders will take strong steps to resolve the region's debt crisis at a summit later this week.

The Shanghai municipal government unveiled a plan on Wednesday that will create incentives for foreign private equity and venture capital funds to invest in early-stage technology companies in the city.

Olympus Corp's board signaled plans to quit over a $1.7 billion accounting fraud, but will likely pick a team of potential successors, triggering a battle for control of the Japanese firm with the former CEO who blew the whistle on the scandal.

China's annual rate of export growth slowed in November versus October, vice commerce minister Chong Quan told reporters on Wednesday, confirming market expectations that deteriorating external conditions are dragging on the world's No. 2 economy.

Citigroup Inc. (C) Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said the bank will eliminate 4,500 jobs "over the next few quarters" in an effort to reduce costs, The Associated Press reported.

Verizon Communications Inc plans to launch a standalone service allowing customers to stream movies and television shows over the Web, in a fresh challenge to Netflix Inc and the traditional cable TV business, according to several people briefed on the plan.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) announced it will sell all of the assets of Hartford Life Private Placement LLC, a subsidiary that provides insurance to high-net-worth customers, to Philadelphia Financial Group Inc. for $117.5 million.

In an effort to provide relief to families left with no potable drinking water in Dimock Pennsylvania, activists and local leaders shipped roughly 5,700 gallons of fresh water supplies by bus Tuesday from New York City's city hall.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management has hired a former Goldman Sachs banker to join its ultra high net worth family advisory team in Los Angeles, the firm said on Monday.

Police extended moves aimed at keeping anti-Wall street protesters from camping on Monday, arresting 11 people in Orlando and San Diego after a weekend clampdown in cities on both the East and West coasts netted scores of arrests.

There is a significant chance that the Federal Reserve will embark on a third round of asset purchases to stimulate the U.S. economy, a major bond fund manager said on Tuesday.

The stock of online retail giant Amazon.com (AMZN) has dipped recently, but is the pull-back a buy opportunity?

UBS announced Tuesday it will be adding five recently-public Web 3.0 companies, including Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) to its benchmark index of young public Internet companies, officially called the UBS Next Generation Internet Index.

Global miner Xstrata said on Tuesday it still saw value in its investment in Lonmin , despite a significant underperformance in the platinum producer's share price against the sector this year.

Schroders holds the lowest position possible in equities and has extremely high levels of gold and cash, reflecting its concern about recession in the developed world and a failure to resolve the euro zone debt crisis, its chief investment officer said on Tuesday.

It's not a matter of if, but when the last big project from Steve Jobs will reach the hand of consumers. The debate varies from spring to summer or even fall, but most every qualified observer agrees -- the iPhone release date is coming in 2012. Among the best bets is an early summer unveiling with release soon to follow, keeping in Apple's release tradition that was broken with the iPhone 4S because the product simply wasn't ready yet.

The Citigroup Economic Surprise Index (CESIYUSD), a closely watched index that compares economists' expectations for key indicators and actual results, is at a peak. If trends are to be believed, it's three months from a cyclical nadir -- a point that has signaled a stock market correction in the past.

Iamgold Corp., a Canadian gold producer, said Tuesday it paid $10 million for a 13.2 percent stake in Tolima Gold Corp., which holds interests in Colombia's most prolific gold belts.