Around 600 people lined up outside a store in London Friday afternoon to get their hands on a new iPad 2 tablet computer from Apple.
The U.S. labor market is finally improving, just when many of the other economic indicators are wavering.
It would make sense for Portugal to seek aid from the European Union bailout fund, although such a decision will be caught up in domestic politics, European Central Bank Governing Board member Ewald Nowotny said.
The symbolic action of turning lights out for an hour in an expression of concern for the environment is in the process of being officially observed in thousands of communities across 134 countries and territories on Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe.
Risk assets have performed surprisingly well this week despite the lack of good news and ongoing concerns globally.
US stocks are up on Friday, en route to end positive for the third consecutive session, as investors shrug off global concerns.
European leaders agreed a new package of anti-crisis measures at a two-day summit, but were forced to delay increasing their rescue fund and acknowledged they faced new threats from a government collapse in Portugal.
Moody's credit rating for Portugal depends heavily on the country maintaining strong commitment to consolidating its finances, the rating agency said on Friday.
Stocks were poised for a higher open on Friday as an upbeat outlook from Oracle boosts technology stocks.
Portugal's president started to consult leaders of political parties on Friday as he weighs whether to call a snap election after the Socialist prime minister resigned.
Stock index futures rose on Friday, supported by technology shares after Oracle gave an upbeat forecast.
Stock index futures rose on Friday, supported by technology shares after Oracle gave an upbeat forecast.
Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell in February as companies scaled back investment plans for a second month in a row, suggesting a cooling off in business spending.
A political crisis in Portugal that has forced the resignation of its prime minister dominated the start of an EU summit on Thursday, further complicating efforts to solve the euro zone's debt problems.
Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell in February as companies scaled back investment plans for a second month in a row, suggesting a cooling off in business spending.
A political crisis in Portugal that has forced the resignation of its prime minister dominated the start of a summit of EU leaders on Thursday, with Lisbon rejecting intense pressure to seek a bailout package.
U.S. oil prices steadied on Thursday after spiking in early trade on supply worries amid fighting in Libya and growing unrest in the Middle East.
Fitch on Thursday cut Portugal's credit ratings by two notches, saying risks to the country's financing rose after parliament failed to pass fiscal austerity measures and the prime minister resigned.
Gold hit its second new record high on the trot at the London Gold Fix on Thursday morning, hitting $1441.25 per ounce for US investors as the Dollar held flat on the forex market, and US crude oil rose.
Oil prices dropped back on Thursday in a bout of profit-taking as investors paused after a hefty rally on supply worries amid the fighting in Libya and growing unrest in the Middle East.
Principals of The European Union (EU) who are meeting in Brussels to find ways to contain the euro zone debt crisis are dealing with the aftermath of the Portuguese parliament’s decision to reject an austerity budget.
European Central Bank policymakers underscored the case for an April rate hike on Thursday as Portugal's political crisis raised the prospect of another spell of reluctant ECB bond market intervention.
