Sales at U.S. retailers fell by a smaller-than-expected margin in February after a surprise gain the prior month, as a rise in gasoline prices limited the impact of slumping vehicle sales, a government report showed on Thursday.
Stock index futures sharply cut losses on Thursday as news of a proposed takeover in the biotechnology sector tempered caution before data that investors fear may show more weakness in consumer spending and the labor market.
Finance ministers and central bankers from Brazil, Russia, India and China will convene ahead of the Group of 20 finance chiefs' meeting in London on Friday, a Russian delegation source told Reuters on Thursday.
Veteran fund manager Mark Mobius sees a potential 20 percent rise in emerging market stocks in 2009 and views extreme investor pessimism as a signal to gradually start buying equities.
Ailing telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, is looking to break itself up by selling off major divisions, the Globe and Mail reported on Thursday.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, on rekindled fears over the global economic outlook and the stability of the financial system.
Japanese shares fell more than 2 percent on Thursday and other Asian markets were on the defensive as confidence in a rally this week proved fleeting in light of a shaky global economy and financial system.
Roche Holding AG has struck a deal with Genentech Inc to acquire all outstanding shares in the U.S. biotech group for $46.8 billion, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday.
Roche Holding AG has struck a deal with Genentech Inc to acquire all outstanding shares in the U.S. biotech group for $46.8 billion, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday.
The global economy may shrink 1-2 percent this year, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said, as revised Japanese data confirmed the world's No. 2 economy suffered its deepest slump since the oil shock of 1974.
Bernard Madoff, accused of running the biggest fraud in Wall Street history, is expected to plead guilty on Thursday in what is shaping up to be a courtroom drama featuring denunciations by investors and a renewed push by prosecutors to jail him immediately.
Japan's economy posted its sharpest contraction since the oil crisis of 1974 in the final three months of last year, revised government data showed, and economists saw little signs of an early rebound.
The court-appointed receiver overseeing Texas billionaire Allen Stanford's financial empire will keep the names of investors confidential, a relief to Latin Americans who fear they could be targeted by criminals, a lawyer said on Wednesday.
Bernard Madoff is set to admit he orchestrated Wall Street's largest fraud on Thursday, but there are still big questions about the case, including whether anyone else will face criminal charges.
A U.S. government plan for a public-private investment fund to buy distressed assets to help clean up banks' balance sheets is likely to generate a healthy profit for taxpayers and investors, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said on Wednesday.
Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates is the richest man again, overtaking investor Warren Buffett, as the global financial meltdown wiped out $2 trillion from the net worth of the world's billionaires, Forbes Magazine said on Wednesday.
Toyota Motor Corp. said on Wednesday that Toyota hybrid and Lexus brands in the US will top 1.7 million sales globally through January of this year.
Freddie Mac, one of the two main U.S. mortgage companies that the U.S. government is depending on to help stabilize the housing market, said on Wednesday it needs $30.8 billion from the Treasury to survive after a massive fourth-quarter loss.
JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday he sees modest signs of an economic recovery and endorsed a plan to create a U.S. systemic risk regulator.
Freddie Mac, a top mortgage finance company the U.S. government is depending on to help stabilize the housing market, said on Wednesday it needs $30.8 billion from the Treasury to survive after a massive fourth-quarter loss.
Google Inc will begin to aim online ads at people based on their Web browsing history, joining an industry trend that has raised privacy concerns even as it makes product pitches more effective.
Private equity company Blackstone Group LP CEO Stephen Schwarzman said on Tuesday that up to 45 percent of the world's wealth has been destroyed by the global credit crisis.
