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BlackRock Inc , the world's largest asset manager, reported a big jump in fourth-quarter profit and revenue on Tuesday, aided by the global stock market rally.

The Bank of Uganda said on Monday it was intervening in the foreign exchange market by selling hard currency BOUG00, helping to push the shilling up to levels last seen nearly three weeks ago.

The Ghana cedi extended record losses against the greenback on Monday as corporate demand for the dollar remained high and inflows sluggish, traders said.

HP is looking to move in a new direction by parting ways with Mark Hurd's supporters on its board of directors.

Gold touched a two-month low in Europe on Friday, pressured by a firmer appetite for assets seen as higher risk on expectations the economic recovery was gaining traction, but a retreat in the dollar prevented a steeper drop.

Nigeria has issued guidance for its $500 million debut Eurobond indicating a yield of around 7 percent, higher than that of West African peer Ghana, market sources said on Thursday.

Japan's largest glass maker Asahi Glass Co. has unveiled a super-tough, scratch-resistant glass cover Dragontrail for use in smartphones, tablet PCs, TVs, and similar devices, to compete with the biggest player in the market Corning Inc. (GLW) that makes Gorilla Glass.

Gold rose for a third straight day on Wednesday on a weaker dollar and strong Asian physical demand, while platinum and palladium hit multi-year highs on an improving global economic outlook.

Barclays Bank of Kenya, majority-owned by British lender Barclays, is cutting 200 management-level staff, or about 5 percent of its workforce, to cut costs by an unspecified amount.

Uganda's central bank said on Wednesday it would adopt a more aggressive stance towards the shilling's exchange rate after the local currency sunk to an all-time low of 2,395/2,400 versus the dollar.

Gold rallied for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, boosted by broad weakness in the dollar and robust Asian consumer demand, while anticipation of more resilient global growth took platinum to 30-month highs.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Datalink, Sterling Bancshares, China XD Plastics and Ku6 Media. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Apple, Avago Technologies, Cypress Semiconductor, NVIDIA and ASML Holdings.

The Ugandan shilling strengthened marginally on Friday, supported by central bank intervention after it hit a record low against the dollar, but traders said the currency's reprieve could be short-lived.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc said it will take longer than expected to win approval of a bankruptcy plan, and projects paying out $60.1 billion as it tries to settle differences with creditors owed six times that amount.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc said it will take longer than expected to win approval of its bankruptcy plan and projects paying out $60.1 billion as it tries to settle differences with creditors owed six times that amount.

Uganda's shilling looks set to plumb new record lows against the dollar over the next week due to soaring foreign exchange demand from the oil sector, while Kenya's unit should strengthen slightly.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc said it will take longer than expected to win approval of its bankruptcy reorganization plan as it tries to settle differences with creditors, who are owed well over $300 billion.

Hong Kong stocks are likely to rise further on Thursday with traders expecting momentum to continue after the benchmark convincingly broke through short-term chart resistance on high volumes.

Traders are talking about buying dips again, concurs a Hong Kong dealer, noting that Asia physical market remains very tight for Gold Bars. Reuters says the Hong Kong premium for wholesale Gold Bars over benchmark London prices today held at $3 per ounce, a near 30-month high.

The new chief executive of Barclays plc, Bob Diamond, has told a Treasury Select Committee at the House of Commons that banks should not be bailed out by taxpayers and banks should be permitted to fail should they get into trouble.

New Year has started well for the iPhone maker Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), whose market capitalization has hit the $300-billion mark. Shares of Apple reached an all-time high of $330.26 during 2011's first regular trading session.

Wall Street appears to be almost universally bullish about U.S. stocks for 2011.

JPMorgan Chase & Co and Barclays Plc dropped their opposition to MBIA Inc's plan to restructure its businesses.

Shares of General Motors rose more than 2 percent Tuesday after a slew of analysts advised buying shares of the automaker, which has raised $23 billion recently in the world's largest IPO.

General Motors Co shares rose as much as 3.1 percent and closed 2.1 percent higher on Tuesday after banks resumed coverage of the automaker with high marks for its strong post-bailout balance sheet and its position in emerging markets.

A senior bullion logistics executive in Switzerland yesterday told BullionVault that shipments of Gold Bullion to China are running much higher – and have begun much earlier – to meet consumer demand for the Chinese New Year, which will start on 3rd Feb. 2011.

Barclays Capital raised profit estimate of online retailer Amazon.com, Inc., citing strong online holiday season.

Barclays Capital raised profit estimates of Research In Motion Ltd., saying Playbook tablet and QNX phone visibility is improving, and continued international strength appeared sustainable

Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, has threatened to nationalize all British and American companies operating in his country unless Western sanctions are eliminated.