IBT Staff Reporter

Israel is giving tough competition to India's Surat in diamond processing. according to half-yearly figures, Israeli diamond industry is showing clear-cut signs of recovery. In this period, exports and imports of polished and rough diamonds jumped by an average of 104% over the first half of 2009.

The euro fell from seven-week highs against the dollar on Wednesday on concerns about the growth outlook for the global economy and as investors scrutinized details of plans to test the financial health of European banks.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, pulling up after a losing streak in the past six trading sessions, supported by an expected fall in crude oil inventories in the United States, the world's top energy consumer.

U.S. online retailer Amazon.com Inc has launched an Internet grocery service in Britain, it said on Wednesday, joining a fast-growing but competitive market.

Family Dollar Stores Inc posted a higher quarterly profit as U.S. consumers continued to seek out cheap food and other everyday items as unemployment remains high, but forecast fourth-quarter earnings below expectations.

The euro slipped off seven-week highs against the dollar on Wednesday on concerns about the global economic recovery and as investors scrutinized details of plans to test the financial health of European banks.

Gold eased in Europe on Wednesday, extending the last session's losses, due to a stronger dollar and a report that China would not make gold a major part of its reserves undermined sentiment. Physical interest in the metal at lower prices and strong chart support after its recent correction were likely to limit further losses, analysts said.

Signs Switzerland may still face deflation risks mean its central bank could yet resume efforts to curb the Swiss franc's strength, but it is unlikely to step in unless the euro falls below 1.30 francs. Swiss consumer price data on Tuesday showed only a limited pick-up in inflation in June. The Swiss National Bank last month cited subsiding deflation risks as a reason for ending its 15-month campaign to fight excessive franc rises.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, recovering from the losing streak of the past six trading sessions, supported from an expected fall in crude oil inventories in the United States, the world's top energy consumer.

The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into whether some HSBC Holdings Plc clients may have failed to disclose offshore accounts, lawyers familiar with the probe said on Tuesday.

Stock index futures edged down on Wednesday and followed international equity markets lower as fears persisted of a slowdown in the global economy.

China on Wednesday ruled out the nuclear option of dumping its vast holdings of U.S. Treasury securities but called on Washington to be a responsible guardian of the dollar.

Stock index futures fell on Wednesday, following global equity markets lower, as fears of a slowdown in the world economy persisted.

Taseko Mines Limited, based in Vancouver, challenged naysayers this week who are using a federal panel's review of the company's proposed gold-copper project in south-central British Columbia as reason not to support the plans.

Crude oil dipped on Wednesday, set to stretch its losing streak for the past six trading sessions, as global investors remained concerned that the world's economic growth was faltering.

BP's boss met officials from an Abu Dhabi state fund on Wednesday as hopes for fresh investment and progress toward closing a leaking U.S. oil well lifted the company's battered shares.

European Union bank regulators were expected to reveal on Wednesday how tough their health checks of the region's banks will be, in the hope of restoring confidence to markets worried about ballooning public debt.

When Reserve Bank of India bought 200 tonnes of International Monetary Fund (IMF) gold in November last year, the bullion market received one of the biggest boosts ever and the gold prices soared in the subsequent weeks to new record heights. Reason for this was that all central banks across the globe have been increasing their gold holdings fearing the recession looming large over the world.

LOS ANGELES - Filmmakers Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald are joining forces with YouTube to create what is being dubbed the first user-generated feature-length documentary.

U.S. bank card delinquencies dipped in the first quarter of this year to the lowest level in eight years, reflecting measured improvement in the overall economy.

Samsung Electronics' record quarterly profit failed to please investors as a weak European economy looks set to weaken demand for flat screens and chips, hurting profitability at the world's largest memory chipmaker.

Economic reforms intended to pull Greece out of recession and help it resolve a sovereign debt crisis are broadly on track, despite some slippage, the European Commission said.

ICBC , the world's most valuable lender, may raise up to $6.6 billion in new funding, sources said, joining Agricultural Bank of China , which priced its IPO to be the world's largest, in a rush to raise billions of dollars.

Unnamed Saudi investors seek to buy a stake worth 10 to 15 percent in British oil company BP dealing with a massive U.S. oil spill, a Saudi newspaper said in an unsourced report on Wednesday.

Africa offers among the world's best investment prospects as emerging markets grow ever more important, although its economies risk being destabilized by the slew of capital they stand to attract in coming years.

London and New York are not about to lose their spots as the world's leading financial centers but they are being challenged by emerging market upstarts in a potentially lucrative area: the management of funds moving between developing economies.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday after the previous session's tepid gains, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.2 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.4 percent at 4 a.m. EDT.

Investment flows to the world's four biggest emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- slowed slightly in the first half of 2010, but growth rates and the pace of dealmaking remain strong, data shows.

New evidence that the U.S. economic recovery is slowing pushed investors to sell shares on Wednesday following a burst of bargain hunting the previous day.