MARKETS / FINANCE

The accounting board for U.S. state and local governments is set to propose on Friday radical reforms to the disclosure practices of public pension systems.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lost a financial lifeline. Since December, bans by the world's major credit card networks, it has been difficult for supporters of the controversial whistleblower to send him donations. But this week, WikiLeaks gained a brief respite with the unwitting help of an Icelandic bank.

Economists at top financial institutions expect the U.S. unemployment rate to fall in 2011 and 2012 despite a surprisingly weak jobs report on Friday, a Reuters poll found on Friday.

LivingSocial has picked Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank to lead-underwrite an IPO that could value the daily deals site at $10 billion to $15 billion, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Call it a lost two years, and counting.The economic malaise afflicting industrialized economies on both sides of the Atlantic isn't as long-lived as Japan's lost decade yet. But as a distressingly weak June jobs report made clear on Friday, two years after a deep recession ended, central bankers have yet to engineer convincing recoveries.

The U.S. Supreme Court's dismissal of a massive sex-bias case against Wal-Mart Stores Inc may have handed Wall Street a new weapon in its battle against angry investors who lost billions on securitized home loans.

Hedge funds eked out tiny gains during the first half of the year but lagged far behind the broader stock market, data released on Friday show.

Former hedge fund manager Forrest Fontana, who once worked for industry titan Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors, will pay nearly $1 million to resolve claims that he violated a short-selling rule, the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday.

Greenlight Capital chief David Einhorn unloaded his stake in Yahoo Inc just months after building a sizable position, swallowing a modest loss after an ownership dispute tarnished the Internet company's prized Chinese assets.

U.S. state and local governments cut thousands of jobs in June, pushing their payrolls down to the lowest in five years, according to Labor Department data released on Friday, and analysts do not expect the losses to end any time soon.

Stocks fell on Friday as a weak jobs report dashed optimism that the economy was emerging from a soft patch, leaving investors to hope earnings season would revive an appetite for buying.

Stocks ended down on Friday as a weak jobs report dashed optimism that the economy was emerging from a soft patch, leaving investors to hope earnings season would revive an appetite for buying.

A WikiLeaks partner found a new bank to accept Visa and MasterCard donations this week, but the respite from the card networks' months-long embargo was only temporary, because the bank shut down the payments within hours, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

U.S. jobs growth ground to a near halt in June as employers hired the fewest workers in nine months, frustrating hopes the economy would bounce back quickly from a slowdown in the first half of the year.

Chun Ming has spent the past two weeks in a cramped San Francisco courtroom, sending notes from his laptop to a tight-knit group of investors glued to a $4 billion antitrust battle involving some of the world's biggest chipmakers.

There's no way to sugarcoat it: the current U.S. job market is a challenging one for recent grads -- for the young and young at heart. But fret not: you can increase the likelihood of finding meaningful employment by following a few important tips.

Greenlight Capital sold its stake in Yahoo Inc after an ownership dispute undermined the value of the Internet company's Chinese assets, according to a Greenlight letter to investors.

Stocks dropped on Friday and the Nasdaq looked to end an eight-day winning streak as a weak jobs report dashed hopes the economy was emerging from a soft patch, though the start of earnings season next week kept investors engaged.

Corporate America's job engine is largely stalled, with chief executives waiting for a pickup in demand that would result from higher employment, yet wary of adding jobs in their own companies.

The last space shuttle flight does not mean the end of NASA sending humans into space. However, the era of big-ticket space projects that occurred during the Cold War is undoubtedly over, at least until the United States has eliminated its more than $14 trillion national debt.

U.S. employment growth ground to a halt in June, with employers hiring the fewest number of workers in nine months, dampening hopes the economy was on the cusp of regaining momentum after stumbling in recent months.

U.S. job growth in June essentially ground to a halt for a second month running, suggesting a sharp first half slowdown is not merely a blip, as Wall Street economists and Federal Reserve officials had hoped.

U.S. wholesale inventories rose more than expected in May, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday, creating a potential drag on growth in the second half of the year as the job market slows further.

Stocks dropped on Friday after weak jobs growth in June dented hopes the economy was emerging from a soft patch, but the start of earnings season next week kept investors engaged.

He has faced criticism over threats to impose a U.S.-style healthcare system, plans to reduce sentences for rapists, and proposed cuts to pensions and benefits.

U.S. jobs growth ground to a near halt in June, with employers hiring the fewest workers in nine months, frustrating hopes the economy would bounce back quickly from a slowdown in the first half of the year.

Google Inc will cooperate fully with U.S. antitrust regulators but will not let the formal probe launched last month distract or disrupt its strategy, executive chairman Eric Schmidt said.

Large Wall Street banks are starting to scale back compensation on trading desks as shareholders grow increasingly restless over weak returns.

The world's largest association of economists is considering ethics guidelines after outrage about undisclosed conflicts of interest, but only a handful of its 18,000 members have bothered to offer any input.