OPINION

It's business as usual in New York's banks and brokerages where a muted response to the World Cup has allowed companies to turn a blind eye to staff watching soccer matches at their desks or on trading floors.

It was a mixed week as another rate hike became certain

We now live in a fully global society where it is imperative to have an awareness of cultural differences as they relate to networking etiquette. We often notice differences within our own states. Certainly between regions of the nation; but what about businesses that are networking with businesses in other parts of the world? We actually cross cultures with every person we meet.

The month-long slide in global stocks has wiped out at least $2 trillion in wealth, leaving investors few alternatives to preserve their holdings aside from bonds and money markets.

The market has been nothing to shout about recently. But investors holding Life Insurance stocks may not have noticed. As of Friday’s close, stocks in that industry were up 52 percent on average, over the past six months. What’s more, I counted at 11 other industries showing at least 15 percent returns over the same period.

It was the worst week since April 2005, thanks again to fears of inflation and the Fed.

Small cars were banned from Beijing's main roads less than a decade ago, as China's rulers worried that cheap, spluttering vehicles would clog lanes they hoped to fill with sleek modern autos.

Dusty Dezhou was relegated to the footnotes of Chinese history for centuries, known mainly as the place where a Filipino king died.

U.S. telephone giant AT&T Inc. risks losing customers to cable rivals unless it builds a fiber network closer to customers than currently planned for its video and Internet services, analysts said.

Consumer sales of diamond jewelry so far this year are stronger than in 2005, but the cutting and manufacturing sector is sluggish partly due to a De Beers price hike on rough diamonds in February, officials of the diamond giant said on Tuesday.

European generic drug firms hope to lead the world in developing cheap copies of biotech medicines, but industry experts see hurdles ahead and warn that carving out a major market will not happen overnight.

These are good times for diversified U.S. manufacturers. So why aren't they doing more big mergers and acquisitions?

The drop in oil and metal prices this week has raised fears that a speculative bubble in commodities is bursting, but giant U.S. fund manager PIMCO says fundamentals will hold up the asset class.

Billionaire investors Warren Buffett and Carl Icahn may differ in investment strategies but they both own sizable stakes in Tyco International Ltd., an analysis of recent investment documents shows.

Qatar's oil minister, Abdullah al-Attiyah said on Monday that oil prices are no more influenced by the market's supply and demand than the political tensions.

After a disappointing start to 2006, U.S. chemical makers could post improved second-quarter results as customers race to stockpile everything from plastics to chlorine ahead of the summer hurricane season, experts say.

Soyoil, traditionally one of the less-traded products on the 158-year-old Chicago Board of Trade, is scaling new heights as investors bet on green fuels amid soaring crude oil prices.

Cash keeps pouring into commodities, undeterred by record prices, U.S. regulatory changes and an unusual oil market structure, with this year's index-linked inflows on course to top $3.5 billion.

The online search industry has proven to be a fierce battlefield since it emerged in the mid 90’s. At the time, many companies ventured into the field hoping to capitalize on the fledgling industry. However 10 years later, a burst tech bubble has filtered out the also-rans, leaving behind three major contenders with one announcing its new proposal for a better search solution for advertisers and web surfers.

UK-based Barclays Bank Plc is looking to develop wealth management in India, where it sees potential in a growing middle class as well as non-residents, two senior executives told Reuters in an interview.

Some investors are viewing Microsoft Corp. as a bargain after uncertainty about its investment strategy and development delays pushed the software giant's share price to three-year lows.

EBay Inc. Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman on Thursday promised investors that faster growth and market share gains lay ahead, but left the company's near-term outlook unchanged as international sales growth slows and it steps up investments in new businesses.

The world's attention is firmly turned toward Asia when it comes to widening imbalances in global trade and investment, soaring foreign-exchange reserves and the dollar's structural weakness.

It's a nightmare scenario: A hacker accesses e-mails in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission computers and splashes them across the Internet, revealing an inquiry into a company that shakes investor confidence before the probe is complete.

Connoisseurs have nothing but praise for Panama's tiny annual crop of gourmet coffee but they warn that farms where the best beans are grown could vanish as landowners sell to wealthy foreign retirees.

Do you think your house is your retirement nest egg? Think again, say some financial advisers.

Foreign stocks have become so popular in the United States that whole exchanges are now shopping abroad. Both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq have been competing to buy the centuries-old London Stock Exchange.

While financial markets may not react dramatically to the Group of Seven's charge to China to let its yuan currency rise, the events of the weekend will likely further erode faith in the U.S. dollar.

Soon after you retire, you'll probably have to start withdrawing the money you assiduously deposited month after month, year after year.