U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has written to the European Commission warning that plans to regulate hedge funds and private equity firms could cause tensions with Washington, the Financial Times reported.
Asian stocks fell on Thursday as investors worried strong loan growth and quickening inflation in China would spur Beijing to tighten monetary policy sooner than expected, while the yen rebounded against major currencies.
Yesterday's announcement of a steep decline in housing finance caught the market by surprise somewhat triggering a drop in the Aussie dollar to an intraday low of 0.9130.
With economic policy stimuli already at full tilt, no government wants an overvalued exchange rate to slay recovery, and the rival soft currency needs are producing some elaborate rhetorical jousting.
The stock market edged higher on Wednesday as stocks in the transportation and financial sectors made significant gains.
Novartis has taken an exclusive option to develop Transgene's cancer vaccine TG4010, but the deal fell short of investors' hopes, pulling the shares in the French biotechnology company down 12 percent.
American International Group could learn the fate of the stalled $2.2 billion sale of its Taiwan unit Nan Shan Life Insurance as early as Thursday.
The U.S. stock market is poised for a slightly lower opening after disappointing data from Germany and the U.K.
A distinct lack of momentum will drag on the rich world's economic recovery this year, according to the latest Reuters economic outlook in which economists largely bucked a recent trend of rising forecasts.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged Afghans on Wednesday to push energetically for a peace settlement with Taliban insurgents and said Afghanistan's neighbors must support such an agreement.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday he believed Britain would maintain its coveted top credit rating and announced a pay freeze for senior civil servants and military officers to help tame a record deficit.
Iceland's opposition turned up the heat on the center-left government on Wednesday to hold out for a tough new Icesave debt accord with Britain and the Netherlands, after a referendum rejection of its previous deal.
State-owned Northern Rock shrank its losses in 2009, helped by a lower bad debt charge in the second half as house prices stabilized, but arrears rose and the lender warned loan impairments would stay high in 2010.
Concerns over Europe's fiscal problems hit the euro and sterling on Wednesday, while world stocks hovered near their recent six-week highs, though they were still up 66 percent from a low hit one year ago.
The euro and sterling were under pressure on Wednesday after renewed concerns about Europe's fiscal problems but oil, copper and the Australian dollar were supported by China's strong export and import data.
Asian stocks hovered near six-week highs on Wednesday as Chinese data showed exports and imports in February were better than expected, while the euro and the pound suffered on renewed concerns about Europe's fiscal problems.
Positive Australian economic data keeps on rolling in with yesterdays better than expected NAB Business Confidence and the ANZ Job advertisements surveys adding some support to the Aussie dollar.
Fueled by leftover chocolate and with components made from carrots, potato starch and flax, the world's first sustainable Formula 3 racing car has a top speed of 135 miles per hour and can go from zero to 60 in 2.5 seconds.
Chevron Corp , the second-largest U.S. oil company, put several of its downstream operations up for sale, including its Pembroke refinery in the UK, and said it would eliminate 2,000 jobs this year.
The European Commission said on Tuesday it will consider banning the naked selling of derivatives contracts some EU politicians say were used by speculators to bet on a Greek bond default.
Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil company, said it planned to put several downstream operations up for sale, including its Pembroke refinery in the UK, and eliminate 2,000 jobs this year.
Britain risks decades of slow economic decline unless it invests heavily in research, which at the moment is one of the country's few genuine areas of economic competitive advantage, leading scientists said on Tuesday.
