An increase in the spurt of mortgage applications, following low mortgages rates and a rising demand for refinancing activities
Fiat S.p.A. plans to close its headquarters in Mirafiori, Italy for eight additional working days this summer to save ?8 million ($10.1 million) following lackluster European profits for the company.
Not a chance.
Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social networking site, fell nearly 2 percent on Thursday, exactly three weeks after the company took in $16 billion in its initial public offering.
U.S. manufacturing productivity surged 5.4 percent in the first quarter, the most since last year?s third quarter, even as overall productivity eased about 1 percent, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
Fitch Ratings on Friday downgraded Spain's long-term sovereign credit rating from A to BBB, just one notch from junk grade because of the increasing estimated cost of fixing the country's banking system from 3 percent of GDP to as much as 9 percent, or ?100 billion ($126 billion).
Singh wants the Indian economy to be humming along at 9 percent annual growth again.
Stocks jumped at the open on Thursday after China's central bank cut bank lending and deposit rates, fueling hopes of simultaneous action to aid a flagging global economy.
Italian banks appear close to joining Spanish banks as the euro zone's latest contribution to the financial world's endangered species list.
Among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Thursday are: Lincoln National Corp, SINA Corp, Las Vegas Sands, Baidu.com, Bank of America, Royal Bank of Scotland, Morgan Stanley and Nokia Corp.
Hong Kong shares advanced Thursday, following solid gains on Wall Street overnight on hopes that major central banks including the US Federal Reserve might act to tackle deteriorating global economic conditions.
Futures on major U.S. indices point to a slightly higher opening Thursday ahead of the report on weekly jobless claims and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke?s congressional testimony.
Asian markets rose Thursday amid hopes that the U.S. Fed would announce another round of monetary easing and European policy makers would take concrete measures to tackle the debt crisis looming over the euro zone.
American truckers in the last three months are hauling more freight and spending more time on the road as fuel prices stabilize and more materials are getting transported, industry indexes are showing.
The European Central Bank on Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate steady for the sixth consecutive month, keeping pressure on European politicians to more forcefully address the continent's deteriorating finances.
Among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Wednesday are: Ancestry.com, Telefonica, JPMorgan Chase, Shuffle Master, Logitech International, Diageo, Facebook and Mitcham Industries.
Futures on the major U.S. indices point to a higher opening Wednesday ahead of a report on the Federal Reserve's Beige Book and the European Central Bank's (ECB) monthly rate-setting meeting.
Crude oil futures edged higher Wednesday as positive US service sector data and the G7 leaders' pledge to tackle economic problems provided some relief to the markets.
Asian markets rose Wednesday amid positive economic data from the U.S. and the G7 finance ministers' decision to work closer together to tackle the euro zone economic crisis.
Stock markets in China and Hong Kong advanced Wednesday on speculation that the People's Bank of China will cut interest rates soon to help the economy regain its growth momentum.
India's BSE Sensex rose Wednesday following positive cues from Asian markets and the rupee gaining.
The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Tuesday were: Iron Mountain, KB Home, AES Corp, Guidewire Software and Banco Santander. The top aftermarket NYSE losers were: LRR Energy, Red Hat, Overseas Shipholding Group, Noranda Aluminum Holding and Nabors Industries.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose Wednesday amid positive US economic data and the G7 meeting's promise of a closer collaboration to tackle economic problems.
The performance of the non-manufacturing sector against the backdrop of the release of the non-manufacturing (NMI) index.
Asian shares nudged up Wednesday but were capped by concerns that Europe's financial strains could intensify without a global response, as Spain warned that it was being shut out of credit markets.
Fannie Mae, the federally controlled mortgage giant, said Tuesday it is appouinting its general counsel, Timothy Mayopoulos, as its new president and CEO.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel appears to have altered dramatically her long-held opposition to euro zone nations sharing responsibility for the debts of the monetary union's most troubled banks.
With Europe in turmoil, the affluent French, British and their continental neighbors are flying to buy one of the world's most stable investments: Manhattan real estate.
The euro zone avoided recession with zero growth in the first quarter, but it seems to have run out of luck. Recent data out of the single currency bloc has led economists to conclude with confidence that a recession is looming and the European Central Bank may not act Wednesday.
Massive movements of capital during the latest occurrences of the European financial crisis have forced central bankers into the role of circus contortionists: bending into positions in order to maintain their stated policy targets. And their antics are not being bought by all, with some wagering that these bankers' next attempts will result in a broken back or two.
