INVESTMENT

The leader of Oman has fired three of his top ministers as anti-government protests intensify in the kingdom.

Gold rose above $1,430 an ounce on Friday, while silver surged 3 percent to 31-year highs, as soaring oil prices fueled by widening clashes in Libya prompted investors to pile into safe havens.

As many investors know, gold is a safe-haven asset that can actually increase in value during stock market slides and times of recession. But what else do you really know about this commodity? Are you taking full advantage of it? Do you know how to work it into your overall investment strategy?

General Electric will host an electric vehicle experience tour in seven U.S. cities that will bring GE experts together with local businesses, industry leaders, and public sector stakeholders for educational workshops, test drives, and dialogue on the business case for EV ecosystems.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is being drawn into the criminal trial of one-time hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, as prosecutors plan to show an insider-trading conspiracy involving a former director at the Wall Street bank.

China Investment Corp, the country's $300 billion sovereign wealth fund, is counting on getting a fresh injection of cash from the government to invest abroad, a senior CIC official told Reuters on Friday.

A behemoth dragon-shaped shopping mall in the desert near Dubai has become a symbol of the deepening links between East Asia and the Middle East.

China said on Friday its military spending for 2011 would rise 12.7 percent, resuming double-digit hikes that have stoked regional disquiet about Beijing's expanding strength.

The Gold Price eased back for Dollar investors on Friday in London, but recovered one third of yesterday's sharp sell-off – and was heading higher for the fifth weekly gain in a row – as official data said US unemployment retreated to 8.9% last month.

Gold rose toward $1,425 an ounce on Friday as U.S. February payrolls data supported expectations the Federal Reserve will hold off tightening monetary policy and as unrest in North Africa continued.

Investment bankers have been villified by the public since the financial crisis, and regulators are cracking down on their pay, but Britain's university graduates still aspire to become them. At the country's top universities, the generation of students who started their degree just as Lehman Brothers collapsed are still pursuing lucrative

Investment firm General Atlantic is investing in Facebook, valuing the leading social network at $65 billion, representing a 30 percent boost from its last big investment in January, according to a report on CNBC.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Friday are: Capital One Financial, Deere & Co, Chesapeake Energy, Bank of America, Apple, Massey Energy, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

A sweeping insider trading case that shook the hedge fund world is finally set for trial, with onetime billionaire Raj Rajaratnam fighting to stay out of prison in a courtroom drama over corporate secrets, tapped telephones and friends-turned-government witnesses.

Foreign banks have not gotten the message when it comes to helping American clients avoid paying taxes, a top U.S. tax prosecutor said on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs Group Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein has agreed to testify for the U.S. government at the upcoming trial of Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Thursday are: Lsb Industries, Omega Protein, Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Cooper Companies and Radioshack. The top after-market NYSE losers are: NCR Corp, NeoPhotonics, Newcastle Investment, DCP Midstream Partners and Dynex Capital.

The School asserted on Wednesday that they would be retaining him in the post of Chairman of the board.

BP's $7.2-billion deal to jump into India's oil and gas sector with Reliance Industries is the first sign of new investment that could attract more players, helping to boost output and meet surging demand.

Yujiapu does not roll off the tongue like Wall Street, but planners in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin hope it soon will.

Oxus Gold (OXS.L) laid the ground for a legal battle with the government of Uzbekistan over the future of its ill-fated investment in the central Asian state, wiping out more half of its market value on Thursday.