INVESTMENT

Signs that a Greek departure from the euro zone has become inevitable proliferated worldwide Wednesday with Hong Kong's main stock index plunging more than 3 percent, bank runs in Athens and Britain's central bank finalizing contingency plans for a euro zone breakup.

In a joint presentation to both Republican and Democratic party platform committees, the American Petroleum Institute, the largest petroleum industry-backed trade group, released a series of recommendations it would like to see implemented by the next presidential administration.

A report released Tuesday by the United Nations Development Program argues that Africa must increase its agricultural productivity in order to keep up with promising rates of economic growth.

Spanish oil company Repsol started motions Tuesday to sue the Argentine government in the hope of collecting at least $10 billion for the seizure of its subsidiary YPF.

Asian markets fell Tuesday as concerns over Greece's future in euro zone increased with the continuing standstill in talks to form a government.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into China fell in April compared to the same month last year, as investors, who are concerned about the renewed debt crisis in the euro zone, cut down on spending.

A group of Chevron Corp., shareholders has asked that the Securities and Exchange Commission investigate claims the oil major is not fully disclosing the effect that a multi-billion dollar environmental case in Ecuador would have on the company and its numerous stakeholders.

Political discord in Greece, voters punishing German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, lower euro zone manufacturing output and China freeing up cash for lending all contributed to a global stocks slide as investors pursued the safe havens of government debt and the dollar.

The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 was a Depression-era law that separated investment and commercial banks. It was repealed in 1999 during the Clinton administration.

On Monday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited Myanmar to meet with top officials there. His decision to visit with Thein Sein signifies Myanmar's growing diplomatic importance in the region.

JPMorgan's large trading losses affirm the need for Wall Street oversight, the White House said on Monday, declining to comment on the specifics of the case while the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigates it.

Argentina's nationalization of YPF, the country's largest oil and natural gas producer, may come back to hurt its energy ambitions, said this month's International Energy Agency oil market report.

The day some gamers have been anticipating for a decade is finally almost here: the ?Diablo 3? release date. Ever since Blizzard announced a May 15th launch for the next installment in the dungeon crawler trilogy, fans have been counting down the days.

The almighty dollar was the investment of choice Monday morning, as international investors - in a classic flight to safety after various major news breaks last week - piled into greenback-denominated cash and cash equivalents.

Shareholder activist Carl Icahn is expected to disclose his acquisition of a significant piece of Oklahoma City-based natural gas company Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK), which has seen shares tumble amid a federal inquiry, a securities class-action suit and near-record-low natural gas prices. Both parties have yet to publicly confirm the deal.

Steve Rattner, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, called an anti-Mitt Romney ad released by the Obama campaign Monday morning unfair for painting the presumed Republican nominee as a greedy business mogul who destroys jobs.

JPMorgan will move to limit the fallout from a shock trading loss that could reach $3 billion or more by parting company with three top executives involved in its costly failed hedging strategy, sources close to the matter said.

First JPMorgan Chase & Co. lost an estimated $2 billion in derivatives trading, and now it has lost one of CEO Jamie Dimon's top lieutenants: Ina R. Drew, JPMorgan Chase's chief investment officer and a bank employee for three decades, will step down on Monday. Matt Zames will take over for Drew, Bloomberg News reported.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on northeast Asia's powers to cooperate more in the face of global economic headwinds, as China, Japan and South Korea agreed at a summit on Sunday to soon launch negotiations on a three-way free trade pact.

Athens and Paris have rebelled against Berlin-inspired austerity, but Dublin has taken the harsh medicine dutifully -- and, unlike its testy European peers, grimly borne budget cuts and tax hikes with minimal protest. That may be about to change.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Friday were The Hackett Group, Inc., Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., Multimedia Games Holding Company, Inc., Leap Wireless International, Inc. and XOMA Corporation. The top after-market NASDAQ losers were: American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp, Brightpoint Inc., magicJack VocalTec Ltd., Energy XXI (Bermuda) Limited (EXXI) and JetBlue Airways Corporation.