Wachovia Corp, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, said on Friday that it had incurred about $1.1 billion of further losses in October from credit market turmoil.
Merck & Co has agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle U.S. claims of heart attacks and strokes allegedly linked to its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, the drugmaker said on Friday.
British bank Barclays Plc categorically denied rumors it was about to announce a $10 billion writedown and see its top management quit, after the market talk sent its shares tumbling over 9 percent. There is absolutely no substance to those rumors, a spokesman for Britain's third biggest bank said when asked about a possible $10 billion writedown.
HSBC Holdings, Plc, the largest european bank, said Thursday that it was stopping all sales and trades of mortgage-backed securities as a result of closing its U.S. mortgage desk, according to reports.
India's largest drug maker by sales, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, has resolved a U.S. patent dispute over tamsulosin capsules, the company said, sending its shares up as much as 3 percent.
U.S. pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly & Co, maker of antidepressant Prozac and erectile dysfunction drug Cialis, said on Thursday it plans to develop more drugs in China because of lower costs and an ample pool of talent.
Japanese investors held onto their cash instead of piling more into investment trusts in October, data showed on Thursday, a sign that the U.S. mortgage mess and ensuing market turmoil may be hurting their appetite for risk.
AXA, Europe's second- biggest insurer, reported a 22.3 percent rise in nine-month group revenue that was boosted by higher sales in countries such as Britain and the United States. Total sales rose to 71.652 billion euros ($105.1 billion).
BNP Paribas, France's biggest listed bank, reported a 21 percent rise in third-quarter net profit, in sharp contrast to the slump in earnings of many major banks following the global credit crisis.
Marsh & McLennan Cos, one of the world's largest insurance brokers, said on Thursday quarterly profit soared eleven-fold from a sale of its Putnam Investments unit, but operating earnings missed forecasts.
Technology stocks fell on Thursday as investors worried that the spillover from the credit crisis may be starting to hurt business spending.
Most retail chains suffered through a dismal, record-warm October, with leader Wal-Mart Stores Inc falling short of Wall Street same-store sales estimates and the apparel sector continuing to struggle.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday the U.S. economy has been resilient in the face of credit market strains but it faces risks on both the growth and inflation fronts. he added that sharp increases in the prices of crude oil have put upward pressure on inflation and may impose further restraint on economic activity
A pension fund group has demanded that Harley Snyder resign as Countrywide Financial Corp's lead director and compensation committee chairman, saying he lacks the independence to make the largest U.S. mortgage lender's board accountable to shareholders.
OPEC's reluctance to open the spigots as oil nears $100 a barrel could backfire on the cartel as alternative energy sources and consumer conservation dig into demand.
New applications for jobless aid fell unexpectedly last week, dropping by 13,000, but a more reliable moving average of these claims rose to the highest level in six months, government data on Thursday showed.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Japan on Thursday to resume a naval mission in support of U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan that has been stalled by a domestic political controversy.
World stocks hit a two-week low on Thursday while the dollar remained vulnerable near the previous day's record lows as Wall Street tumbled on a fresh series of negative news on the U.S. mortgage and financial industry.
The dollar teetered close to its all-time lows against the euro on Thursday as the market waited to see whether the European Central Bank would voice concern about the sharp rally in the single currency.
Oil recouped early losses to resume its march towards the $100-milestone on Thursday as resurfacing worries of tight winter supplies and continuing dollar weakness put the brakes on some early profit-taking.
Toll Brothers said on Thursday that it expected to report a 36 percent drop in quarterly home-building revenue, reflecting the deepening decline in the U.S. housing market.
OPEC's secretary-general called on Thursday for tighter regulation of oil markets to reduce the speculative investment the exporter group blames for driving prices to nearly $100 a barrel.
