IBT Staff Reporter

The slow progress by the European Central Bank in stabilising European debt crisis has led to serious risk of jeopardizing the economic recovery by limiting consumer and corporate credit availability. Crude oil and refined products have not seen the same increase in implied volatilities as those seen in US and European equities may be due to anticipatory nature of equities to oil, according to an analysis by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch.

Despite the rising prices of gold, physical demand for the yellow metal continues to surge. Physical demand for gold is robust and premiums on gold bullion coins continue to rise in key bullion markets like London, Dubai, Mumbai, New York and Beijing.

Investments in certificates of deposit (CDs) and real estate are not comparable to gold which is the most stable asset the world has ever seen, according to National Inflation Association of USA (NIA). Responding to investment advice by Dave Ramsey and others in mainstream media on the advantages of investing in CDs and real estate, NIA said that while on the surface, U.S. dollars appear to be 'safe haven' because they have a number on them that always stays the same. U.S. dollars are actually t...

The number of planned layoffs at U.S. companies in May was almost unchanged from April, when they touched a four-year low, suggesting employers are more upbeat about the economic outlook, a report on Wednesday showed.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday, recovering from a sell-off in the previous session, as investors awaited monthly data on pending home and auto sales.

(Reuters) - Common genetic differences have a limited role in causing breast cancer and work independently of lifestyle factors such as weight, diet and breastfeeding which are still more important, British scientists said on Wednesday.

Iran's central bank will sell 45 billion euros from its reserves to buy dollars and gold ingots, a report on the website of state-owned Press TV said on Wednesday.

Production line workers at Foxconn's southern China manufacturing hub will get a 30 percent pay rise, as top customer Apple Inc called recent suicides at the plant troubling but said the site was not a sweatshop.

Ireland expects to provide more capital to nationalized Anglo Irish Bank this year on top of the 4 billion euros ($4.86 billion) paid in 2009 and 10.3 billion so far this year, Prime Minister Brian Cowen said.

Foreclosures for sale continue to rise in Florida as more homeowners default on their home loans.

UK insurer Prudential has abandoned its plan to buy AIG's Asian life unit for $35.5 billion, leaving management under fire and the company facing a $659 million bill for failure.

Over the course of a dozen remodels among us, we've had experience with several different kitchen countertop materials.

Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes fell last week for the fourth straight week, holding 13-year lows, as the housing market adjusted to a selling environment without the federal tax credits that had stoked April sales.

The retreat in the U.S. housing market after the government halted its hefty tax credit in April should be short-lived, analysts say, and the market may resume its path to stability.

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, recovering from a sell-off in the previous session as investors awaited monthly data on pending home and auto sales.

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, recovering from a sell-off in the previous session as investors awaited monthly data on pending home and auto sales.

Honda Motor said a key car parts factory in south China resumed full production on Wednesday, ending more than two weeks of disruption after workers downed tools to demand higher wages in a high-profile and sometimes violent strike.

Agricultural Bank of China may struggle to get the kind of valuation it wants as it gears up to launch the world's biggest IPO into a market that has slumped by a fifth in just six weeks.

Google expects to release its Chrome computer operating system in the late fall, a top executive said on Wednesday, as it aims a competitive strike at rival Microsoft's Windows.

Some of the world's richest central banks will not stop investing in the euro, supporting its reserve status, despite the sovereign debt crisis hammering the euro zone's currency, government sources said.

Tanzania is all set to build a new oil refinery and a 1,500-kilometres pipeline to bring oil to its interiors, according to country's Energy and Minerals ministry. The ministry said, the $3.5 million project will be carried out by Noor Oil & Industrial Technologies (NOIT), a US based multinational oil firm will give the region a steady, uninterrupted supply of refined products.

The World Gold Council (WGC) has announced the appointment of Jammy Chan as its Head of Investment in Greater China, effective immediately. Mr Chan will be based in Beijing and will report to Roland Wang, General Manager, Greater China at the WGC.

Central bank reserve holdings have exploded globally in the last decade and nowhere more so than in Asia, where the biggest piles of cash are. Since 2000, global foreign exchange reserves have grown by a staggering $6.15 trillion and stood at $8.09 trillion at the end of 2009, or 14 percent of the world's gross domestic product, International Monetary Fund data showed.

The euro rose on Wednesday after some of the world's biggest central banks said they would not stop investing in the single currency, while world equities and commodity prices fell.

Japan's Nintendo Co said on Wednesday it will cut the domestic prices of its DS handheld game consoles, slashing the price of one model by a fifth as it seeks to stimulate demand.

Production line workers at Foxconn's southern China manufacturing hub will get a 30 percent pay rise, as top customer Apple Inc called recent suicides at the plant troubling but said the site was not a sweatshop.

UK insurer Prudential Plc is pulling out of its bold $35.5 billion takeover of AIG's Asian life insurance arm, ending a 3-month battle with shareholders who had argued the deal was over-priced.

Asian stocks followed Wall Street down on Wednesday as jitters over the euro zone's debt crisis prompted investors to keep cutting riskier positions, while the euro steadied after hitting a four-year low.

old prices remained steady in Asian trade Wednesday mainly on increased safe-haven buying after a report said European banks face sizeable write-offs. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1223.55 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while gold for August delivery was at $ 1226.97 an ounce.