ECONOMY & MARKETS

US conglomerate GE said it agreed to buy Britain's oilfield-services company Wellstream Holdings Plc for 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion) to broaden its base in fast-growing emerging markets.

Jim Chanos, arguably the most well-known short-seller in the world, is setting his sights on China's troubled real estate construction-driven economy.

Stocks drifted higher, with the S&P 500 approaching a two-year high, as traders seemed pleased with a narrowing trade deficit and higher consumer confidence, ahead of an expected extension of Bush-era tax cuts by the federal government.

There are plenty of concerns surrounding U.S. Treasuries, yet a Treasury crisis doesn't seem to be happening.

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. rose more than expected during December, and an index of current conditions touched its highest level since January 2008, the Thomson Reuters/ University of Michigan Survey said.

US trade deficit declined sharply in October to reach a nine-month low as exports rose, the US commerce department said on Friday.

USD/CAD showed little reaction to the first set of data from the US and Canada on Friday and the pair stayed within a descending channel ahead of a more important consumer sentiment data from the US.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to higher opening on Friday ahead of economic data including trade balance and monthly import price index.

Higher-than-expected producer price index released Friday morning in London helped GBP/USD break above the key 1.5838 resistance to a 2-week high and is now targeting the 1.5952-1.5996 region.

China’s trade surplus rose in November raising fresh fears about renewed criticism from the US and Europe over Beijing’s currency policy.

On a 2-hour chart, EUR/USD has next support at 1.3141 (S1), as indicated by the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement from 1.3422 to 1.2970. A break below the same could take it to 1.3059 (S2) before retesting the November 30 low of 1.2968.

Sprint Nextel, the third largest wireless carrier in the United States, could acquire Ntelos Holdings' wireless business.

Hybrids are set to sound the death knell for petrol-powered company cars, which could almost be obsolete within a decade, says a new survey.

Stocks finished narrowly mixed in lethargic trading as an early jump on a benign jobless claims data faded away on a stronger U.S. dollar and later on news that Democrats in the House voted against considering the tax cut extensions that President Obama negotiated with Republicans.

German pharmaceuticals and chemical giant Bayer AG said it plans to invest 1-billion euros ($1.3-billion) in China in efforts to more than double sales in the country by 2015, as part of the company’s greater push into the Asia-Pacific region.

IBTimes speaks to Siemens CEO Peter Löscher about the future of renewable energy, the megatrends affecting it, and how his company is positioning itself in this industry.

Annual inflation in Germany hit two-year high in November mainly driven by rising energy and food prices, data showed on Thursday.

Graphics chip maker Nvidia may be turning the corner with better execution in PC graphics with the GTX 580/570/560 product family based on its new Fermi architecture.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to higher opening after the Department of Labor reported that weekly jobless claims declined last week.

China on Thursday expressed its support for Russia’s bid to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

U.S. homes are set to lose more than $1.7 trillion in value during 2010, bringing the total value lost since the market peaked in June 2006 to $9 trillion, which surpassed the cost of 12 Iraq wars, a report said.

Insurance giant American International Group has signed a debt repayment deal with Federal Reserve Bank of New York, paving way for the Treasury Department to sell a significant stake in the company early next year.

Despite a very strong jobs data early Thursday, the Austalian dollar looks less energized for a rally above Tuesday's high of 0.9964 to 1.0001, to complete the 'right shoulder' of a 'head and shoulders' pattern with 'head' at 1.0181 formed on November 5.

The Greek economy shrank more than initially estimated in the third quarter, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Thursday.

UK’s trade deficit widened in October due to a sharp increase in imports, the Office for National Statistics said on Thursday.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to higher opening on Thursday as better-than-expected Japanese economic growth boosted sentiment.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage of Imperial Oil with an overweight rating and a price target of C$46 per share, saying that the company's oil sands play has been undervalued by investors.

With emerging economic powerhouse China snapping at its heels, Japan on Thursday said it still remained the second-largest economy in the world, and raised its third quarter gross domestic product growth to 4.5 percent on an annual basis.

World oil demand is likely to exceed the previous all-time high reached in 2007, mainly driven by huge demand from the Asian countries, a report said on Wednesday.