INFLATION

Surging energy prices helped cause unexpected drops in U.S. retail sales in June and consumer sentiment in July, reports on Friday showed, raising the prospects the Federal Reserve may be close to halting its campaign of hiking interest rates.

U.S. retail sales unexpectedly shrank in June as energy prices bit, raising concern about growth as the Federal Reserve considers halting its two-year interest rate hike campaign.

A U.S. Treasury market rally that has driven bond yields below the key inter-bank overnight lending rate may be the strongest signal yet from the bond market that the Federal Reserve has gone too far in its campaign to raise interest rates.

Oil prices are hovering near record highs, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the foreign exchange market.

Big investors buying into baskets of commodities saw lower returns in the first half of this year, compared with a year ago, as oil generated slimmer gains and the search intensified for new strategies.

The dollar fell on Friday after a tame measure of core U.S. inflation reinforced market expectations that the Federal Reserve may be nearing the end of its two-year-long monetary policy tightening cycle.

Euro zone government bonds fell on Friday as investors focused on upcoming European Central Bank rate hike plans after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted interest rates there may have peaked, which pushed up shares and forced the dollar down.

The Fourth of July fireworks show will come a few days early on Wall Street - but like a damp bottle-rocket, it may soon fizzle out.

Britain's FTSE 100 share index hit a 3-week high on Thursday, fired up by strong resources and bank stocks, although trading levels were modest ahead of a U.S. interest rate decision. Banks saw HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland gain 1.1 percent, while Barclays put on 1.5 percent.

The dollar edged higher across the board on Wednesday as investors awaited signals from the Federal Reserve on further interest rate hikes which may accompany a rise widely anticipated for later this week.

Financial markets stalled on Wednesday as uncertainty about when the Federal Reserve will end its monetary tightening campaign kept investors sidelined, while crude oil rose above $72 a barrel on worries about U.S. gasoline supplies.

Long-term care insurance isn't new anymore. Insurance companies are getting smarter about how to write their plans, and financial advisers are getting more savvy about how to choose them.

Fed watchers are set to take over on Wall Street next week as a Federal Open Market Committee meeting could give stock investors more clues on the outlook for interest rates.

U.S. Treasury debt prices slipped on Friday, dropping for the eighth straight day on expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week and perhaps again in August.

If bulls have their way next week, U.S. stocks could extend the rebound that has some on Wall Street hoping the worst is over after a month-long sell-off.

It was a mixed week as another rate hike became certain

U.S. stocks slid on Friday after another warning from a Federal Reserve official about inflation, giving investors more reason to think the Fed will keep raising interest rates.

U.S. inflation developments bear watching, but the impact of high energy costs on other prices has been limited and the economy will adjust over time, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke declared on Thursday.

The U.S. workforce is in shape to benefit from globalization and from increased specialization that is boosting productivity, Federal Reserve Governor Donald Kohn said on Thursday.

A global sell-off in stocks that started in May is not over and may only be just starting, Abhijit Chakrabortti, global equity strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said on Tuesday.

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.