GLOBAL MARKETS

Australian mall developer Westfield Group is looking at a possible investment in a waterfront site in Toronto, Canada, the company said on Thursday, after recently announcing expansions plans in Europe and South America.

A decade after its World Trade Organisation accession, China has increased some discriminatory policies on foreign businesses, a European business lobby said on Thursday, casting doubt on official pledges to level the playing field.

Search engine Google Inc. is buying Zagat Survey LLC, the widely used 32-year-old restaurant guide, for an undisclosed amount.

Zimbabwe's government is threatening more than 50 foreign-owned mining companies with the loss of their licenses after they allegedly failed to submit acceptable indigenisation and empowerment plans.

Venezuela's state gold miner Minerven expects to produce 1.2 tonnes of the precious metal this year, rising to 4.5 tonnes in 2012 as it takes a central role in the nationalization of the sector, state media said on Thursday.

Apple is now seeking to ban sales of Samsung-based devices in Japan.

Apple Inc. said last week that its new Chief Executive Tim Cook promoted Eddie Cue to Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services from his previous position of Vice President of iTunes.

A rebound in Asian stocks ran out of steam Thursday as worries over the widening euro zone crisis and the faltering U.S. economy undermined investor confidence.

Gold fell hard Wednesday when some investors took profits from the yellow metal's recent runup in price and other investors abandoned the yellow metal for stocks.

Facebook's revenue doubled to $1.6 billion in 2011's first half, a source with knowledge of its financials told Reuters, underscoring its appeal to advertisers while it grapples with intensifying competition from the likes of Google Inc.

Nvidia's stock has soared after the company's Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang outlines a strong fiscal outlook for next year.

Silver prices clawed their way back to near a breakeven point Wednesday after falling early in the day's session by 3.5 percent, a performance that easily outshined gold's movement in early afternoon trading.

Digital graphics chip maker NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) unexpectedly provided fiscal 2013 financial guidance, which Jefferies believes primarily to focus investors on its longer-term growth potential.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 1 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.79 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.97 percent at 0900 GMT (5 a.m. ET).

Internet firm Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) said its board has removed Carol Bartz as Chief Executive Officer, replacing her with Chief Financial Officer Timothy Morse on an interim basis. Jefferies said the departure of Bartz opens door for Yahoo! to strategic alternatives.

Rogers Communications is applying to Canadian authorities to open its own banking unit, enabling the telecommunications company to offer its own credit cards.

Silver mining companies settled mixed Tuesday, while the price of the white metal itself gave up ground to fears that global economic activity may be slowing.

South Africa's rand weakened against the dollar on Tuesday, reversing earlier gains on broad-based dollar buying but could get support at around 7.16.

German construction activity fell last month for the first time since December, according to a key survey of construction purchasing managers by Markit Economics.

Loyalists of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi crossed into Niger late on Monday in a convoy of vehicles, carrying gold and cash, officials from Libya's interim ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Tuesday.

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold's Indonesia mine workers are set to strike from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 unless the firm meets their demands for a pay rise, Julia Parorongan, the firm's workers union spokeswoman, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Jefferies & Co. said Apple Inc. is looking to merge iOS (iPhone/iPad) with OS X (Macs) into a single platform for apps and cloud services starting in 2012-2013.

Kofax Plc's management confirmed that the board is planning for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States at some stage in the future with plans to maintain a dual listing between the United Kingdom and the U.S.

Wall Street stock futures pointed to a lower open for equities on Tuesday on renewed fears the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis is worsening, with shares seen tracking a slump in European stocks on Monday when the U.S. market was closed.

European financial markets steadied Tuesday, with the euro jumping against the Swiss franc, after a sharp sell-off a day earlier due to fears for the euro zone's future and that of its banking sector.

Asian shares fell and U.S. Treasury yields dropped to the lowest levels in at least 60 years on Tuesday on fears that Europe's sovereign debt troubles are worsening and could trigger a second full-blown banking crisis.

Asian shares fell and the euro slipped Tuesday amid fears that Europe's sovereign debt troubles are worsening and could trigger a second full-blown banking crisis.

Nigeria's central bank plans to diversify its $33 billion in foreign exchange reserves away from the dollar by switching a tenth of the stockpile into yuan, underlining the momentum behind China's drive to internationalise its currency.

South Africa's stocks fell more than 2 percent on Monday and the rand hit one-week lows to the dollar, with further losses seen this week as worries about the global economy and euro zone debt crisis persist.