INVESTMENT

Gold rallied 2 percent on Wednesday, rising above $1,700 an ounce for the first time since mid-December after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it will likely not raise rates for longer than previously expected due to a sluggish economic recovery.

It Romney were an athlete, he would be somewhere in the middle of the pack.

President Barack Obama is on record as proposing a high-speed rail system that will, within 25 years, serve 80 percent of Americans. And Washington's 2012 budget shows the the president is putting his money -- or at least taxpayer money -- where his mouth is. Here is 5 things to know about the project.

Citigroup Inc., the third-biggest U.S. bank, said it may consider further spending cuts in its securities and banking unit in 2012 after an investment of almost $1 billion failed to yield meaningful revenue.

The Nasdaq rose on Wednesday, powered by a strong earnings report from Apple, while the Dow and S&P 500 turned higher after the Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates near zero through at least 2014.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it will not raise interest rates until at least late 2014, even later than investors expected, in an effort to support a sluggish economic recovery.

The Pinheirinho squatter camp became a home to thousands of people, and even had its own church and shops.

HSBC Holdings PLC is under investigation by a U.S. Senate panel in a money-laundering inquiry, the latest step in a long-running U.S. effort to halt shadowy money flows through global banks, according to people familiar with the situation and a company securities filing.

Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, is expected to beat Wall Street's consensus profit estimates in the fourth quarter due to a rebound in domestic markets and consumers' need to replace their dated fleet.

SAP, the world's biggest maker of business software, was upbeat on its topline growth this year citing its investment in new technologies and robust corporate spending.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Tuesday were: Radian Group, Peabody Energy, MGIC Investment, Tempur-pedic International, Lions Gate Entertainment, Patriot Coal Corp, MagnaChip Semiconductor, MGM Resorts International, Youku and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc.

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG offered about $5.7 billion in cash to buy U.S. gene sequencing device maker Illumina Inc , in a potentially hostile takeover bid to boost its position in life sciences and diagnostics.

In today's volatile markets, for buyers, building stronger Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) capability, strategy, capital and integration skills will enable them to capitalize on quick deals and monetize new assets quickly after deal close according to an expert in the field.

Blackstone Group LP has raised more than $6 billion for a real estate opportunity fund, which eventually could match its current $11 billion fund, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The U.S. economy is expected to have expanded in the fourth quarter of 2011 at a 3 percent annual rate, the fastest pace in a year and a half and well above third-quarter growth of 1.8 percent, as consumers loosened their purse strings, companies rebuilt inventories and housing construction perked up.

Mitt Romney criticized Newt Gingrich's tax plan on Monday by saying that he wouldn't pay any taxes under it. But Romney wouldn't pay any taxes under his own plan, either.

Even as Greece works towards an agreement with private sector investors to meet their debts, the S&P warned that Greece is likely to enter into default.

Stocks edged lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 pulling back from a five-day rally, as talks to resolve Greece's debt crisis hit a snag and a number of earnings from blue chips disappointed investors.

Verizon Communications may miss analyst expectations for 2012 earnings after posting disappointing fourth quarter results as it was hurt by hefty subsidies for the Apple Inc iPhone.

A slight majority of Americans -- 52 percent -- say they favor raising tax rates on capital gains to match the rate for wage income, according to new poll by The New York Times and CBS.

Anglo Asian Mining reduced its gold production in Azerbaijan by 15 percent year-on-year to 57,068 ounces in 2011 from 67,267 ounces in 2010, the company said on Tuesday.