U.S.

Apple’s iPhone has been widening US trade deficit with China even though it is entirely designed and owned by an American company, says a study.

Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, has threatened to nationalize all British and American companies operating in his country unless Western sanctions are eliminated.

U.S. stocks advanced in early trade on Thursday, following better-than-expected initial jobless claims and housing starts data.

Wholesale-market Gold Investment bullion-bar prices slipped back to an overnight low beneath $1380 per ounce Thursday lunchtime in London, trading 0.5% down for the week as world equities crept higher and the US Dollar eased back on the forex market.

Applications for jobless benefits in the U.S. fell unexpectedly for the week ended Dec. 11, posting a decline for two consecutive weeks.

A new supercomputer from the Air Force is built out of 1,716 Playstation 3 consoles.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices remained-range bound on Thursday ahead of economic data, including key weekly U.S. jobs data from the government.

The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues has called for enhanced federal oversight in the emerging field of synthetic biology. The panel's approach recognized the great potential of this burgeoning field of science, including life saving medicines, and the still distant risks posed by the field.

The war in Afghanistan is unlikely to be won, US Intelligence reports suggest. Even as President Barack Obama is all set to announce policy review on the war in Afghanistan, two classified reports state that it could be improbable to end Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgency in the Tribal regions of the country. The reports however, have fueled a bitter row between the intelligence agencies and the military over who has a better perspective and proximity in the war zone.

General Motors has paid $2.1 billion to complete the repurchase of preferred shares issued under a federal government bailout, the U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday. With this the auto maker has brought the total sum recouped by taxpayers to more than 23 billion dollars.

Industrial production showed signs of recovery as it rose more-than-expected in November, a report by the U.S. Commerce Department showed. Total capacity utilization for the industry rose to 75.2 percent during the month.

Inflation in the U.S. continued to remain weak during November, in line with analysts' expectations, according to a report by the U.S. Labor Department.

Roubini Global Economics (RGE) has predicted that global economy's growth next year will be marginally weaker than this year, with eurozone holding the biggest risk to global growth, and that the U.S. will not emerge any time soon from the worst unemployment crisis it has faced in decades.

The U.S. home loan demand continued to fall in the week ended Dec.10, posting a decline for three straight weeks as the mortgage rates hit a six-month high.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a lower opening on Wednesday with futures on the S&P 500 down 0.47 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.39 percent and Nasdaq100 futures down 0.47 percent.

Gold and silver fell off day's highs after stronger-than-expected US data released Tuesday morning in New York strengthened the greenback, losses in which had helped the metals rose to 1-week highs earlier in the day, but both metals held on to the SMA support strongly.

US stocks advanced in early trade on Tuesday, following better-than-expected reports on retail sales and producer prices.

U.S. retail sales continued to rise in November for the fifth month, boosted by holiday shopping as well as fuel prices, the U.S. Commerce Department said.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to modestly higher opening on Tuesday, following better-than-expected reports on retail sales and producer prices.

China on Tuesday criticized a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling yesterday that upheld the U.S. decision last year to slap duties on Chinese-made tires and said it will appeal to the global trade body. The Chinese commerce ministry repeated that the safeguard measures adopted by the U.S. on Chinese tire imports were protectionist and counter-productive.

A survey conducted by Association for Financial Professionals showed the executives do not believe that additional fiscal stimulus is necessary or desirable at this stage.