S&P

European shares fell on Friday after sources said credit rating agency Standard & Poor's was set to go through with a long-mooted downgrade of several eurozone countries, weighing on sentiment for riskier assets such as equities.

One of the driving forces causing this decoupling to occur has been a growing string of strong economic data in the U.S.

S&P Indices said Wednesday that more companies increased their dividends in 2011 compared with a year ago. This trend is expected to continue into 2012.

An analysis released Tuesday by Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Parker suggesting U.S. equities will finish the year more than 8 percent lower than where they began is making those who follow the American stock market nervous. And for good reasons.

Standard & Poor’s has cut the rating on $695.4 million on bonds issued to built Citi Field for the New York Mets to negative, or BB+, one level below investment grade.

Stocks were nearly unchanged on Friday, the last trading day of a turbulent year, but the S&P 500 looked set to end with a slight gain.

Sony Tablet S and Tablet P are about to receive Android 4.0 - Ice Cream Sandwich - updates, the Japanese electronics giant announced on its online community forum.

Mukesh and Anil Ambani buried the hatchet in a five-year battle that split the business empire inherited from their father, but family watchers were sceptical that the reunion would result in renewed business ties.

The pipeline will carry Russian gas under the Black Sea into Europe.

Stocks fell about 1 percent on Wednesday on concerns about the economy in early 2012 while the euro hit a fresh 11-month low against the dollar before a key auction of long-dated Italian debt on Thursday.

The S&P 500 turned positive for the year on Friday as equities rallied again on a run of better-than-expected economic data, though volume continued to be seasonally weak.

Wall Street stocks rose on Friday as the S&P 500 rallied for a fourth straight day and turned positive for the year after a run of better-than-expected economic data.

Goldman Sachs recovered quickly Thursday from a rumor that the company's corporate debt was being downgraded by Standard and Poor's, extending the day-long rally the firm's stock had been experiencing prior to the non-event.

Stocks rose on Thursday, putting the S&P 500 on the cusp of finishing out the year higher as another decline in jobless claims pointed to further improvement in the labor market.

According to Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs' corporate credit rating was downgraded to AA-, from A+

Technology shares slumped on Wednesday and pushed the Nasdaq down 1 percent after Oracle reported results that cast doubts on the sector's health, even as broader markets closed mostly flat in a thinly traded day.

Standard and Poor's, one of the top credit rating agencies in the world, announced today it was lowering the sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Hungary, slashing that government's debt to 'junk' debt status. The agency also assigned the nation's debt with a 'recovery rating' of 3, meaning it expects investors to be able to obtain from 50 to 70 percent of the country's bonds face value in the event of a default.

S&P 500 stock buybacks increased for the ninth consecutive quarter. As share count begins to decline, some earnings-per-share impacts are expected for the fourth quarter.

The top aftermarket NYSE losers Tuesday were: Jabil Circuit, SAP AG, FelCor Lodging Trust, iSoftStone Holdings, TRC Companies, PVH Corp, Sealed Air Corp, Talisman Energy, Yingli Green Energy Holding and Frontline Ltd.

The death of Kim Jong-il, North Korean leader, would not immediately affect South Korea's A rating, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said Monday. However, the event has raised security risks on the Korean peninsula and could have negative rating implications if these risks increase.

At least 133 people in India are dead and 327 others hospitalized after drinking moonshine, health officials have said.