Wall Street stock index futures were slightly higher on Friday ahead of the release of the keenly watched U.S. non-farm payrolls data.
The fundamental reason is that the tropical storm Cyclone Yasi, headed towards Queensland, Australia, did not disrupt the country's sugar production as much as initially feared. Australia is the third largest sugar exporter in the world.
Australians voiced relief and surprise after one of the world's most powerful cyclones spared the nation's northeast coast from expected devastation on Thursday, with no reported deaths despite winds tearing off roofs and toppling trees.
Protests of addictive pescription drugs such as oxycontin and suboxone could affect pharamceuticals shares.
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange threatened to sue Britain's Guardian newspaper for allegedly giving his website's cache of classified U.S. cables to the New York Times, according to two new books.
Oil prices surged past $103 on Thursday as pro-democracy protests in Egypt turned violent, while commodities markets raced even higher, adding to worries of mounting inflationary pressures could threaten the global economic recovery.
Japanese stocks eased on Thursday as escalating violence in Egypt prompted investors to move to safer assets, while commodities extended their recent gains, underscoring growing inflationary pressures that could threaten the global economic recovery.
One of the most powerful cyclones on record slammed into Australia's coast on Thursday, uprooting trees, tearing roofs off buildings and raising the danger of deadly storm surges.
The category-five storm, Cyclone Yasi, that has struck Queensland in northeastern Australia (already reeling from deadly floods last month) is likely to hammer global commodity markets, according to media reports.
Unemployment, poverty and social injustice are the top global concerns and most people think their country is heading in the wrong direction, according to a new poll.
DLA Piper is all set to emerge as the largest law firm in the world in terms of revenues and the number of lawyers, after it merges with its Australian partner DLA Phillips Fox.
Australia evacuated thousands of people from its northeast coast on Tuesday as a cyclone rivalling Hurricane Katrina bore down on tourism towns and rural communities, with officials saying it could even threaten areas deep inland that were ruined by floods last month.
Cyclone Yasi is headed towards Queensland, Australia and authorities have already issue warnings for this strong tropical storm.
Cyclone Yasi is headed towards Queensland, Australia and authorities have already issue warnings for this tropical storm.
Manufacturing activity grew in January at its fastest pace since records began in 1992, and factory costs also surged, in a further sign that price pressures are building in the economy, a survey showed.
A huge asteroid the size of the Titanic has struck Jupiter, leaving a hole as large as the Pacific Ocean and causing temperatures to rise up to 4 Kelvin, scientists have confirmed. The July 2009 crash, which released the equivalent of five gigatons of TNT, had perplexed astronomers. But with the new findings, published in the journal Icarus, the mystery behind the huge scar on Jupiter is resolved.
Lupe’s single from the third album drives his fan base crazy
The Chinese government will spend around 30 billion yuan over the next five years on new airport projects in the restless far western region of Xinjiang, state media reported on Monday.
Japanese imports of rare earths from China rose six-fold in December from November, reflecting a resumption of trade after Beijing's de-facto ban on shipments halted flows of the minerals for two months since late September.
With the exception of popular tourist resorts by the Red Sea, Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx, nations issue travel alerts to avoid visiting Cairo and other Egyptian cities.
China will ramp up conventional fuel imports and production to power its economy in 2011 despite accelerating efforts to develop clean, renewable and alternative energy.
U.S. grain prices should stay unrelentingly high this year, according to a Reuters poll, the latest sign that the era of cheap food has come to an end.
