INVESTMENT

Chinese state-owned firms, private corporations and wealthy individuals are buying European vineyards as they look to capitalize on a growing domestic thirst for foreign wine.

Stocks shot up Tuesday, propelled by a strong U.S. retail sales report, a German investor confidence survey and a statement by the Federal Open Market Committee noting improvement in household and business spending as well as job creation.

With Republican senators eager to get a jobs bill to President Barack Obama's desk, Majority Leader Harry Reid offered a vote in exchange for dropping a filibuster of the president's judicial nominees.

A full-text of the Federal Open Market Committee's statement from March 13 meeting.

The relationship between Samsung and Apple is complicated. Even as the two tech giants continue to sue each other around the globe, a new report from iSuppli discovered that Samsung is the sole manufacturer of the Retina Display screen for the new iPad, which was unveiled on March 7 in San Francisco.

“Dancing With the Stars” premieres on Monday.

Europe is undermining drug innovation by cutting prices, raising barriers to new medicines and freeloading off others in Asia and the United States who are more willing to pay, the boss of Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, said.

Customers of bankrupt U.S. brokerage MF Global are receiving bids from global banks for their claims, according to a published report.

Stock index futures advanced on Tuesday ahead of data that could provide clues on the level of consumer spending and before a policy announcement from the Federal Reserve.

The markets may currently be giving Italy the benefit of the doubt, but recent data have supported a gloomy view of the economic outlook according to Capital Economics.

Japan's Nikkei average breached 10,000 for the third straight session before trimming gains to 0.9 percent Tuesday, lifted by defensive buying as investors looked for signs of further easing from the Bank of Japan.

Gold prices may have risen for more than a decade and surged in the last few years. But hedge fund manager Kyle Bass' prediction for 2012 and beyond is that prices still have a lot further to go.

It is our view that a rate cut from China could prove to be the next catalyst to push equity markets higher.

New York is the most competitive city in the world, according to a new survey by Citigroup and the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc will hold its annual board meeting in India later this month.

Japan's Asahi Kasei Corp will buy U.S. medical equipment maker Zoll Medical Corp for $2.21 billion as it looks to build a globally competitive healthcare business and reduce its reliance on its chemicals and fibers operations.

Investors await the Conference Board's employment trend index for February at 10 a.m. EDT, followed by the U.S. Treasury Department's budget-deficit figures for February.

China lowering its growth target will have no direct impact on policy and also will not necessarily mean that it is less supportive to growth in the rest of the world, according to a report by Capital Economics.

Economists agree the current labor recovery is creating some jobs, but disagree as to which groups will benefit the most -- and what American society will end up looking like -- as a result. Their disagreements are full of useful insight that could be the base for future policies, if only policymakers were listening.

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos will run unopposed for the leadership of the Socialists, party officials said Sunday, as the political focus shifts towards a parliamentary election now that Athens has secured a bond swap deal.

Robert Nardelli, the former head of Chrysler and Home Depot, has stepped down from his operating roles at Cerberus Capital Management LP, the private equity firm said this week.