INVESTMENT

Last month the International Energy Agency said in its World Energy Outlook that If, between 2011 and 2015, investment in the [Middle East and North Africa] region runs one-third lower than the $100 billion per year required, consumers could face a near-term rise in the oil price to $150/barrel.

Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp ironed out its crooked accounts on Wednesday, unwinding a 13-year fraud to reveal a $1.1 billion dent in its balance sheet and igniting speculation it would need to merge or sell assets to repair its finances.

Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp ironed out its crooked accounts Wednesday, unwinding a 13-year fraud to reveal a $655 million dent in its balance sheet and igniting speculation that it would need to merge or sell assets to repair its finances.

Jefferies Group Inc. (JEF), a mid-market pure play investment bank that has been battered for weeks by a steady feed of negative rumors, has more bad news to share. The firm is slashing 11 percent of its workforce, mainly in its equities division, as investors remain skeptical about the company’s ability to stay independent.

This December, Santa may well deliver more than just candy or coal to the entrepreneurs of Silicon Alley startups. If 2011 has been any indication, more money than ever before is being dumped into the coffers of New York-based high tech firms. For example, consider the following deals that have just happened:

Japan's scandal-ridden Olympus Corp faces one of its biggest challenges to survive as an independent company on Wednesday, when it must meet a deadline to file its second-quarter results or be delisted from the Tokyo stock exchange.

Activist investor Daniel Loeb, who already owns 5.2 percent of Yahoo, sent another letter to the company. This time, he demanded to see a list of prospective bidders.

Fed-watchers two decades ago had a hard time speculating what the central bank's decisions were because the Fed said relatively little about its monetary policy and allowed actions to speak for themselves. However, efficient markets do not like to be kept guessing.

A deal to restructure Greek bonds could see banks rank on an equal footing with official euro zone lenders to the country under a plan being discussed, one of the lead negotiators said on Tuesday.

It's an understatement to say that the Great Recession took its toll on department store chains, but there are survivors, and Nordstrom (JWN) is one.

Morgan Stanley (MS) is taking a step back to reach a mutually beneficial settlement with bond insurance firm MBIA. The investment bank announced Tuesday that it's willing to take a pre-tax loss of $1.8 billion in the current quarter to resolve outstanding legacy exposures.

- Toronto's main stock index looked set to open higher on Tuesday, taking cues from its U.S. and European counterparts and helped by firmer commodity prices.

The amount of gold held in exchange-traded products is near record highs and although the gold price is suffering from investors' desire for the safety of cash, the risk of this $116 billion stash of bullion being jettisoned is distant.

Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Tuesday on fears that any fresh credit rating downgrades in Europe will deal a fresh blow to financial markets and the cooling global economy.

Tourism will be a key priority for Egypt if Islamists come to power, the country’s major Islamist parties announced on Sunday.

Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest bank to fail in U.S. history, said it reached a settlement in a dispute between shareholders and certain creditors that had prevented the bank from emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

A snub-nosed monkey that hides its head between its knees to prevent rain from running into its nose and a self-cloning lizard, an all-female species that reproduces through cloning, are two of the 208 new species researchers recently found in the Mekong region.

PepsiCo Inc's beverage business should show improvement next year, its new head of beverages for the Americas said, as the company invests in its core drink brands and new products.

Orson Welles' Oscar for writing Citizen Kane -- regarded as one of the best films ever made -- is going up for auction again later this month in a hot market for Hollywood memorabilia.

There’s nothing quite like home ownership. However, given a glut of housing in the U.S. stemming from market speculation and other factors, prospective home buyers need to carefully evaluate their decision to purchase.

The Japan Business Federation has decided to punish scandal-tainted Olympus Corp and Daio Paper Corp on December 21, the Nikkei business daily said.