MARKETS / FINANCE

Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti met Chinese officials last week, a Treasury spokesman said on Tuesday after the Financial Times reported that Rome had asked China to buy significant quantities of its debt.

Is Rick Perry another GOP presidential candidate fast-rising star who quickly flames out? First, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney came out of the gate as as Republican race front-runner, but then he went AWOL. Then, Michele Bachmann, the House Republican from Minnesota, won the Iowa Straw Poll, but that was on the same day that Texas Governor Rick Perry announced his candidacy.

Gold prices steadied in volatile trade on Tuesday after briefly extending the previous session's 2.5 percent slide below $1,800 an ounce, as the dollar's gains versus the euro put fresh pressure on the precious metal.

The euro fell broadly on Tuesday after a report cast doubt on the possibility that China would support Italy by buying its government debt, while an auction of Italian bonds showed Rome paying a high price to borrow from the market.

European index futures rose and the euro edged off a seven-month low on Tuesday after a report that Italy may get financial support from China sparked a bout of short-covering but did nothing to ease fears that Europe is sliding into another banking crisis.

U.S. retirement programs could look different if a grand deficit-cutting bargain is struck in upcoming negotiations.

Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne said the euro single currency system could go off the rails unless European leaders effectively resolve the current debt crisis.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that Europe was doing everything in its power to prevent Greece from defaulting on its debt and cautioned that an exit from the euro zone would unleash domino effects and should be avoided at all costs.

Italy has asked China to buy Italian debt as the euro zone's third-largest economy struggles to convince markets it can manage its debt load, media reports said.

European index futures rose and the euro edged off a seven-month low on Tuesday after a report that Italy may get financial support from China sparked a bout of short-covering but did nothing to ease fears that Europe is sliding into another banking crisis.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday there were generally no taboos in politics but that the euro zone crisis would not have a mechanism for orderly insolvency of one of its members until its permanent rescue mechanism comes into power in 2013.

SAP AG has agreed to pay $20 million to resolve a criminal probe into allegations that it downloaded millions of files from rival Oracle, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner makes a one-day trip to Poland this week for an unprecedented meeting with euro zone finance ministers as growing fears of a potential Greek debt default rip into Europe's banking sector.

The International Monetary Fund acknowledged on Monday it had not anticipated a surge in public debt in debt-stricken countries such as Greece and called for expanded analysis of growing debt piles in advanced economies.

Analysts have been slashing earnings estimates for big Wall Street banks recently, particularly for Goldman Sachs, as unpredictable trading markets and weak merger and underwriting volumes hurt the sector's profit potential.

Stocks rose on Monday, bouncing back in late trading, as hopes that Italy could get financial support from China tempered investors' worst fears over the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis.

Could one make a case to ban/outlaw, or at minimum, to not patronize, what has become a multi-national giant called McDonald’s (MCD), on the grounds that it doesn’t represent the best that the United States can offer? Indeed one can, and here are 5 reasons.

Bank of America Corp said it will cut 30,000 jobs and slash annual expenses by $5 billion, but investors were unimpressed with the plan and the lack of details on how it will be accomplished.

Prosecutors asked a judge on Tuesday to imprison a Taiwan-born former technology company consultant for as long as 8 to 10 years as part of a crackdown on insider trading.

Wall Street could make $100 million from the Federal Reserve's next bond market maneuver, but that is considerably less than the gains from prior Fed actions.

Tumultuous markets and financial problems in Europe are hurting profits in the asset management industry, according to Laurence Fink, chief executive of BlackRock Inc , the world's largest asset manager.

Tumultuous markets and financial problems in Europe are hurting profits in the asset management industry, according to Laurence Fink, chief executive of BlackRock , the world's largest asset manager.

Toronto's main stock market index tumbled more than 2 percent on Monday afternoon as fears of a Greek debt default that could spread to other countries ripped through world markets.

Google Inc's effort to break into the daily deal industry and challenge industry leaders Groupon and LivingSocial is not going well, according to data released on Monday.

There is little evidence that speculation in commodities has led to high and volatile commodity prices, a global banking group said on Monday in a report to the Group of 20 leading economies.

Gold closed lower Monday after investors sold their holdings in the yellow metal to generate cash, while others took profit and a third group bought the surging U.S. dollar as a safe haven.

Finally, U.S. President Barack Obama is wearing his job, acting and talking with a plan and swagger becoming of his office. After unveiling a massive jobs plan to get America out of its nine percent unemployment and flat growth doldrums late last week, Obama is pushing Congress to get it done or get out of the way so America can get moving again.

Surging auto sales in China could give a lift to palladium, a precious metal that has a critical industrial function in the catalytic converters of cars and trucks.

Vancouver-based Abzu Gold Ltd. said Monday it has begun drilling at a gold concession in Ghana.