UBS shares boosted by U.S. tax probe deal
Shares in Swiss banking giant UBS AG rose 3 percent on Thursday after it agreed to pay $780 million and identify certain American clients to settle criminal fraud charges in the United States.
The settlement, announced on Wednesday, further cracks Switzerland's trademark bank account secrecy and could have wide implications for the $7 trillion-offshore banking industry by making it harder to try...
Detroit 3 health crucial for Japan carmakers: lobby
A healthy U.S. auto industry is vital for a sound U.S. economy and by extension for Japanese carmakers, a Tokyo-based auto lobby said, giving a tacit nod to the latest request for federal aid from ailing rivals in Detroit.
Oil pauses below $35 ahead of U.S. crude stocks
Oil prices were steady below $35 a barrel on Thursday, ahead of U.S. data expected to show crude inventories in the top energy consumer have hit an 11-year high amid the worsening recession.
Oil stocks in the United States have already risen by 20 percent since September as the economic downturn crushed consumption, which helped pull crude prices more than $110 off their peaks last summer.
A day...
Nikkei nudges up 0.3 percent but economy worries loom
Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.3 percent on Thursday, a day after closing at its lowest point in nearly four months, as blue-chip exporters gained on the dollar's first move above 93 yen in six weeks.
The Nikkei gained 23.21 points to 7,557.65, capping three days of losses in which it fell about 3 percent. On Wednesday, the benchmark booked its lowest close since October 27.
The broader Topix &...
Nikkei up 0.4 pct on yen, but economy worry looms
Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.4 percent on Thursday, a day after closing at its lowest in nearly four months, as blue-chip exporters gained on the dollar's climb above 93 yen for the first time in six weeks.
Astellas Pharma rose after Nikko Citigroup raised its rating on the stock to buy/medium risk from hold/medium risk, saying the drugmaker's upwardly revised targets for the year to ...
Many seek their money as Stanford fallout spreads
People scrambled on Wednesday to get back their money from firms linked to Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, as fallout from U.S. fraud charges against him spread from the United States and the Caribbean to Latin America and Europe.
Forex and Dow Jones recommended levels
EUR/USDToday’s support: - 1.2506(main), where correction is possible. Break would give 1.2480, where correction also may be. Then follows 1.2465. Break of the latter would result in
Nikkei up 0.5 percent, exporters gain on weak yen
Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.5 percent on Thursday, a day after closing at its lowest in nearly four months, with exporters leading the market higher after the dollar climbed above 93 yen for the first time in six weeks.
The weaker yen boosted tech shares such as Kyocera Corp as well, while automakers such as Honda Motor Co gained on short covering.
But inve...
Oil prices pause ahead of U.S. crude stocks data
Oil prices were steady below $35 a barrel on Thursday ahead of U.S. data expected to show crude inventories in the top energy consumer have hit an 11-year high amid the worsening recession.
Oil stocks in the United States have already risen by 20 percent since September as the economic downturn crushed consumption, which helped pull crude prices more than $110 off their peaks last summer.
A day ...
GM debt mountain looms as key talks heat up
General Motors Corp is battling to survive collapsing auto demand, tight credit and uncertain prospects for recovery in its biggest markets.
UBS to identify clients, pay $780 million in tax case
Swiss banking giant UBS AG has agreed to pay $780 million and identify certain U.S. clients in a deal to resolve criminal fraud charges that it assisted rich Americans to evade taxes.
The settlement announced on Wednesday further cracks Switzerland's trademark bank account secrecy and could expose some UBS customers to Internal Revenue Service scrutiny and law enfor...
Hollywood struggles to find wealth on the Web
After more than a decade of hype about the Internet being the next great stage for mass entertainment, it remains dominated by amateurs with most Hollywood stars watching from the wings.
Tanzania plans 400 MW coal plant by 2012-media
Tanzania plans to build a 400 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant by 2012 at a cost of $1.2 billion
Class action status denied in Microsoft Vista case
A U.S. federal court denied class action status to a lawsuit accusing Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) of misleading buyers about which computers could run expanded features that were part of the Windows Vista operating system.
San Antonio’s Mission Trail
Remember the Alamo? Well, along with that veteran icon of downtown San Antonio are several other historical and captivating missions in nearby San Antonio...
12 Cool Places to Eat in Philadelphia
A truly memorable restaurant experience goes beyond the plate. From a church converted into a Creole restaurant and a century-old boat with multi-leveled...
Hundreds seek their money as Stanford fallout spreads
besieged his banks and companies to try to redeem funds or seek information about their savings.
After the shock generated by the alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme fraud by Wall Street veteran Bernard Madoff, regulators sought to calm public fears about another major financial scandal at a time of global recession and banking failures.
In Colombia, a local affiliate of Stanford halted its activi...
U.S. renewable energy gets $43 billion from stimulus
The U.S. has allocated $43 billion from the $787 billion economic stimulus package to boost clean and efficient energy.
UBS to identify customers, pay $780 million
Swiss bank UBS AG will pay $780 million and hand over the names of some U.S. customers in an agreement to resolve criminal charges that it defrauded U.S. tax authorities.
HP cuts full year outlook
have kept it relatively resilient to the economic downturn, it is still vulnerable to sharp cutbacks in corporate spending on technology.
The big disappointment, not surprisingly, is the shortfall in revenue, said Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brent Bracelin. Their hardware businesses, both servers and storage, are under intense scrutiny. Budgets are being cut and that showed up in the ...
Brazil central bank approves Itau-Unibanco merger
Brazil's central bank said on Wednesday it has approved a planned merger between Itau, one of the country's largest private banks, and its smaller rival Unibanco .
HP's outlook misses forecast
Hewlett-Packard Co reported worse-than-expected quarterly revenues and issued an earnings forecast for the current quarter that was below Wall Street's expectations.
The technology bellwether said on Wednesday its net profit for its fiscal first quarter ended January 31 fell to $1.85 billion, or 75 cents a share, from $2.13 billion, or 80 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Exc...
iPhone features everywhere in rivals' new phones
Copying a few pages from the playbook of Apple Inc's iPhone strategy, which brings many of the powers of the Internet to mobile phones, is no way to beat the computer interloper at its game.
Russia, Georgia agree plan to avoid new clashes
Russia and Georgia have agreed on a mechanism to try to prevent any flareups around the breakaway South Ossetia region from turning into full-scale clashes, international mediators said on Wednesday.
S&P, Nasdaq dip as housing plan fails to cut fear
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed marginally lower on Wednesday as President Barack Obama's $275 billion plan to prop up the housing market failed to stem worries about the economy, and bleak housing data highlighted the deepening recession.
Indexes see-sawed in a narrow range throughout the day, but the S&P and Nasdaq ultimately failed to hold gains despite bargain-hunting that sent investo...
Hewlett-Packard shares fall after results
Hewlett-Packard Co on Wednesday reported first-quarter results.Highlights:* Q1 non-GAAP earnings per share $0.93
* Q1 GAAP earnings per share $0.75
* Sees Q2 2009 GAAP earnings per share about $0.70 to $0.72
* Sees Q2 2009 non-GAAP earnings per share about $0.84 to $0.86
* Sees FY 2009 GAAP earnings per share about $3.19 to $3.31
* Sees FY 2009 non-GAAP earnings per share ab...
Wall Street dips on housing data, sour results
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged lower on Wednesday, after bleak housing data overwhelmed President Barack Obama's $275 billion plan to prop up the housing market.
* The Dow eked out a slight gain, narrowly avoiding a new bear-market low.
* Adding to the somber mood, the Federal Reserve slashed its economic forecast for 2009, and several companies, including Deere & Co ,posted ...
Obama unveils plan to tackle housing crisis
U.S. President Barack Obama pledged up to $275 billion on Wednesday to help stem a wave of home foreclosures, part of a broad effort to lift the country out of recession.
Up to 9 million families would be given the chance to refinance their mortgages under the plan, administration officials said. He unveiled the plan in Arizona, a state hard hit by home foreclosures.
Obama, who a day earlier sig...
Facebook reverses course on privacy policy
Facebook's efforts to build a business model around its online social network have hit another roadblock, as a backlash by its users forced the company to reverse a new policy.
Bernanke cuts growth view, considers inflation target
The U.S. Federal Reserve cut its 2009 economic forecast sharply and discussed setting a target for inflation at its previous meeting as a deepening recession heightened fears of a dangerous decline in prices.
