INVESTMENT

Concerning the rhetoric coming from the White House recently, much of the punditry has found itself shocked and alarmed.

A new study from the Sunlight Foundation shows that big corporations have an outsize effect on taxation policy in the United States.

In 1982, Debbie Peagler was desperately trying to escape the clutches of an abusive relationship. Her boyfriend, Oliver Wilson, had been threatening to end her life after years of controlling her every action. Wilson was arrested for his attempts to harm Peagler and although he had put her through years of abuse and tournament, he was released from prison.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), the fifth-largest U.S. bank by assets, said Tuesday it had 23% less profit in the first quarter on falling investment banking and trading revenue, but its revenue beat analyst forecasts as it raised its dividend.

Global growth is slowly improving as recovery in the United States gains traction and dangers from Europe recede, but risks remain elevated and the gains are very fragile, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade Tuesday are: Endocyte, Comerica, Canadian Solar, Sprint Nextel, Valero Energy, U.S. Bancorp, Bank of America , China Gerui Advanced Materials Group, KIT digital, Host Hotels and Resorts and Goldman Sachs Group.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China continued to fall for the fifth consecutive month in March, as concerns over European sovereign debt crisis curbed investments by companies in the world’s second largest economy.

Futures on major US indices point to a higher opening Tuesday ahead of the quarterly earnings from top investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and key housing data due to be released before market opens.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into China fell in March as investors spooked by a lingering European crisis cut down on spending.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) surprised markets with a 50 basis point cut in the main interest rate, the first policy easing in three years, as focus turned to lifting lending controls and tackling a slowdown in the economy.

Investment management firm Loomis Sayles' stock market forecast for 2012 and beyond is quite bullish.

Apple Inc. stock took a hit Monday as it dropped more than 4 percent to $580.13 a share, its first time below $600 since March 30.

Shares of troubled BlackBerry developer Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM), jumped more than 4 percent late Monday amid unconfirmed reports the company has hired a banker for an auction.

Closely-held private equity giant The Carlyle Group will be putting a valuing itself somewhere in the vicinity of $7 billion during an upcoming initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported late Sunday, a conservative assesment that takes into account some very recent developments in the private equity and IPO worlds.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) and Rosneft (LON: ROSN) are expected to cement a historic deal on Monday that would allow Exxon access to Russia's Arctic reserves and catapult Rosneft on the global energy stage by granting it entry into North America, reported Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Citigroup's first-quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates as expenses fell 7 percent from the 2011 fourth quarter.

KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE: KKR), a global private equity company, plans to list precision engineering components manufacturer MMI International on the Singapore Exchange, reported the Dow Jones Newswires, citing three people familiar with the matter, as financial market conditions stabilize on the island nation.

South Korea's central bank has lowered the country's growth forecast for 2012 to 3.5 percent on account of the global economic slowdown that has resulted in the weakening of exports.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to ease rates when it announces the annual credit policy on Tuesday, in order to lift constraints on lending and in a response to the continued shortage of liquidity in the banking sector faced with a slow moving economy.

Temasek Holdings, the Singapore state-owned investment group, has agreed to buy $2.3 billion worth of shares in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) from Goldman Sachs, a move that is seen as part of its strategy to increase investment in emerging economies.

Renowned French designer Phillippe Starck has revealed that he has been working with Apple on a revolutionary product that will be unveiled in the next eight months.