Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said on Wednesday he often regrets the bank's 2008 purchase of mortgage lender Countrywide, but the loan losses from that deal will not force the bank to issue new shares.
The U.S. Government posted a less-than-expected July budget deficit of $129.4 billion, but given reeling U.S. and global stock markets, the pressure will be on Congress's new "super committee" to achieve greater than the $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction target called for in the second half of the U.S. debt deal.
Shares of Societe Generale plunged as much as 23 percent amid a whirlwind of rumors questioning its financial solidity, before closing 15 percent lower after the French bank denied all speculation about its health.
Gold miner Endeavour Mining Corp's second-quarter profit rose, helped by higher production and sales as well as strong gold prices, sending its shares up 5 percent.
A congresswoman on Wednesday requested more information on security company McAfee's report detailing a five-year hacking campaign that breached 72 organizations globally.
Gold is set to widen its premium over platinum after hitting parity for the first time in 2-1/2 years this week, with no end yet in sight to the potent cocktail of fear factors that are benefiting safe havens at the expense of cyclical assets.
Gold held steady on Wednesday, hovering near a lifetime high around $1,778 an ounce struck in the previous session, but further gains could be capped by a rebound in equities after the U.S. Federal Reserve's vow to keep rates near zero.
Stocks fell on Wednesday on fears about the French banking sector's exposure to shaky European debt and its possible spillover onto U.S. banks.
Bank of America Corp will not turn to new share offerings to boost capital, Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said on Wednesday, in an effort to placate investors angry over a recent 20 percent drop in the company's shares.
A U.S. government request that Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam spend as much as 24-1/2 years in prison -- a term associated more with murder than financial crimes -- raises the ante in the biggest individual insider trading case in a generation.
Moody's Investors Services said on Wednesday that most issuers in the U.S. municipal bond market are well insulated from shock, but added that some could be weakened during significant market volatility.
The International Energy Agency says threats to the U.S. and global economies may cut oil demand growth next year by more than 60 percent; however, the group still sees global oil demand little changed this year and in 2012.
Economic fears are weighing heavily on Americans, with a large majority saying the United States is on the wrong track and nearly half believing the worst is yet to come, a Reuters/Ipsos poll said Wednesday.
Four years to the week since global financial markets totally seized up, European bank funding is again in short supply.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday charged St. Louis-based brokerage firm Stifel, Nicolaus & Co and a former senior executive with defrauding five Wisconsin school districts by selling them risky investments funded largely with borrowed money.
Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, wiping out most of the previous session's gains, on fears of tumult in the French banking sector, which has significant exposure to shaky European debt.
Capital One Financial Corp agreed to buy HSBC's U.S. credit card arm for $2.6 billion more than the face value of the loans, the latest in a string of acquisitions for the credit card company turned U.S. bank.
Web-based software provider IntraLinks Holdings Inc's second-quarter revenue topped market expectations as sales at its mergers and acquisitions unit jumped 29 percent, but it forecast a third-quarter profit below estimates.
Shares in French bank Societe Generale plunged as much as 23 percent amid a whirlwind of rumors before closing 15 percent lower, after the bank denied all speculation about its financial solidity.
CME Group, which owns the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Globex electronic trading platform for trading futures and options, said Wednesday it hit a record volume in gold futures and options.
The Obama administration is looking for new ideas to shrink a glut of foreclosed properties held by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that are weighing down the housing market and hurting home prices.
With markets reeling, and the economic expansion far from self-sustaining, the pressure will be on Congress? new 'super committee' to cut the budget deficit substantially -- by more than the $1.5 trillion called for ? to calm investors.
Gold climbed to a third record in a row on Wednesday, extending its best rally since 2008 as a dive in French bank stocks sent new shudders through anxious financial markets, sending U.S. stocks skidding.
Gold hit fresh record highs on Wednesday as U.S. stock markets resumed their decline on concerns over the U.S. and euro zone economies, and after the Federal Reserve said U.S. interest rates would stay near zero for at least two years.
Wall Street stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, erasing most of the previous day's gains,
Bank of New York Mellon Corp plans to cut about 1,500 jobs, or 3 percent of its workforce, to stem rising expenses.
The Hong Kong stock exchange was forced to suspend trading in stocks including HSBC Holdings after hackers broke into the exchange's website on Wednesday, preventing investors from accessing company announcements made during the midday break.
The Hong Kong stock exchange was forced to suspend trading in stocks including HSBC Holdings after hackers broke into the exchange's website on Wednesday, preventing investors from accessing company announcements made during the midday break.
Gold and silver prices rose Wednesday, but a falling stock market pulled down shares of silver mining companies and left gold mining company stocks mixed in midday trading.
Groupon Inc's second-quarter loss more than doubled as it hired more than 1,000 new employees, even though the Internet daily deals company trimmed back its marketing costs.
