Yemeni forces fought al Qaeda militants on Monday, killing at least two they said were behind security threats which forced the U.S. embassy and other foreign missions to close.
Whether Europe's most troubled economies have the political will to tackle record deficits will preoccupy investors in Western Europe in 2010, along with Britain's election and potential overspill from emerging market crises.
Financial markets were upbeat on the first trading day of 2010 on Monday, with Asian stocks hitting a 17-month high and the U.S. dollar up against major currencies on hopes U.S. job figures this week will reflect a sustained economic recovery.
EUR/USD opened lower trading in a limited range during the shortened holiday week. The pair made a weekly high on Tuesday trading up to 1.4457 after release of U.S. housing data from S&P/Case-Shiller showed a 0.4% rise to a seasonally-adjusted 145.36 in October. The index was off 7.3% versus October of last year, slightly worse that the market's -7% Y/Y consensus. Also on Tuesday, European Central Bank Governing Council member and Luxembourg Central Bank head Yves Mersch wrote in a New Year's me...
The Australian Dollar opens slightly higher on Monday at 0.8980. Traders squaring up for the New Year kept the Aussie in a tight range last Thursday against its U.S. counterpart.
The United States and Britain closed their embassies in Yemen on Sunday over security concerns about possible militant attacks after the failed bombing of a U.S.-bound plane on Christmas Day.
Nearly a quarter of Icelandic voters have signed a petition asking their president to veto a bill on repaying $5 billion lost by British and Dutch savers when the island's banks collapsed, organizers said on Saturday.
Italian confectioner Ferrero has met with private equity firms as well as Hershey Co to discuss a possible bid for Britain's Cadbury Plc , Il Sole 24 Ore daily reported on Saturday.
A pension fund may ask the Supreme Court to let it sue BAE Systems Plc in the United States over allegations that the company paid more than $2 billion in bribes to win a record Saudi arms deal, the fund's lead attorney said on Friday.
A suicide bomber blew himself up in an SUV at a volleyball game in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing 88 people in a village that opposes al Qaeda-linked Taliban insurgents, police said.
The United States will more than double its security assistance for Yemen and Britain will host an international meeting this month to seek ways of preventing the poorest Arab state from becoming an al Qaeda stronghold.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has invited key international partners to a meeting to discuss how to counter radicalisation in Yemen after last week's failed attack on a U.S.-bound plane, his office said on Friday.
Hedge funds making big bets on currencies, commodities and equities are favoured by fund selectors in what is likely to be a more testing 2010 after a bumper year for hedge fund returns.
Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in 2010 and the Reuters stories related to them.
The government played down a report on Thursday that Iran masterminded the kidnapping in Iraq of a British man held hostage for more than 2-1/2 years, saying there was no firm evidence of direct Iranian involvement.
Iceland's parliament approved an amended bill late on Wednesday to repay more than $5 billion lost by savers in Britain and the Netherlands when the island's banks collapsed during the financial crisis.
Is it advisable for a gold price of $ 1100 per ounce to buy? There would have been certainly better times in order of the timing. In the past the rising inflation pushed the gold price always upwards. National rescue programs for the global economy cost huge amounts and are financed on credit. The United States and Great Britain have already begun, to finance the new government debts by printing new money.
Iceland's parliament approved an amended bill on Wednesday to repay more than $5 billion lost by savers in Britain and the Netherlands when the island's banks collapsed during the financial crisis.
Tim Hart, a founding member of British folk-rock group Steeleye Span, has died of lung cancer, the band's record company said on Wednesday.
The Australian Dollar spent the majority of local trade yesterday above the 89 cent mark before a brief bout of profit taking late Sydney time took the Aussie down towards the low 89's.
Scottish singer Susan Boyle narrowly failed to claim honors for the year's best-selling album in the United States on Wednesday, but still has another sales week to wrest the title from country star Taylor Swift.
Singer Van Morrison became a father again on Monday at the age of 64 after his manager gave birth to a son he described as the spitting image of his daddy.
