FEDERAL RESERVE

Two years after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced plans for a massive second round of monetary stimulus at a yearly Fed summit in Jackson Hole, Wyo., market watchers are beginning to take odds on the chances that his speech at this year's Jackson Hole summit could produce a similar announcement.

U.S. stock index futures point to a slightly lower open Thursday ahead of the Labor Department's weekly jobless claims data and Census Bureau's reports on housing starts and building permits.

Asian markets were mixed Thursday as investors maintained a watchful mode awaiting monetary easing measures from policymakers around the world to tackle the weakening of the global economic growth.

Asian shares steadied Thursday as investors took to the sidelines, waiting for more clues over the timing and extent of any further stimulus to tackle the euro zone's debt crisis and support global growth.

Despite recent headline defaults, muni bonds have enjoyed a confidence born from historically low default rates, especially when compared to their riskier private sector cousins, corporate bonds.

U.S. industrial output expanded last month at the fastest pace since April and manufacturing notched another solid advance, hinting at underlying resilience in an economy that has struggled to establish momentum.

Consumer prices were flat in July for a second straight month and the year-over-year increase was the smallest since November 2010, giving the Federal Reserve room for further monetary easing to tackle stubbornly high unemployment.

The U.S. stock index futures point to a lower open Wednesday amid the fading expectations about an announcement of monetary easing measures by the Federal Reserve to support the economy.

Standard Chartered Plc will pay $340 million to New York's bank regulator over transactions linked to Iran, in a speedily arranged deal likely to cheer its shareholders.

Most of the Asian markets fell Wednesday as investor confidence was weighed down by the lack of stimulus measures from policymakers to support the global economy and regain the growth momentum.

Asian shares steadied Wednesday as strong U.S. retail sales and data showing Germany and France avoiding a contraction last quarter bolstered investors' risk appetite, with weak euro zone growth sustaining hopes for more stimulus.

Asian shares steadied Tuesday with investors staying sidelined ahead of more figures from Europe and the United States later in the day, after recent data showed the euro zone's debt woes were eroding business activity globally.

Asian stock markets ended with gains last week as sentiment continued to improve on hopes that the European Central Bank would shortly take policy action to lower the peripheral bond yields of struggling nations such as Italy and Spain.

When Benjamin Lawsky formally accused U.K.'s Standard Chartered bank of money laundering and a cover-up linked to Iranian financial institutions, the head of New York's newly formed Department of Financial Services was hardly described in glowing terms in the press. He was termed a rogue, an egomaniac and worse by unnamed scorned colleagues in New York and Washington. But in describing his ambitions, what these reports failed to take into account was the depth of his and Governor Andrew C...

Major data releases aplenty are on the economic calendar next week. In the U.S., investors will focus on July retail sales, industrial production, and consumer prices. In the euro zone, second-quarter gross domestic product figures across the major economies and the German ZEW index are the main highlights.

U.S. regulators directed five of the country's biggest banks, including Bank of America Corp and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, to develop plans for staving off collapse if they faced serious problems, emphasizing that the banks could not count on government help.

Most of the Asian markets rose Thursday as hopes for monetary easing measures to be announced by China grew following reports that the country's inflation slowed down in July compared to the previous month.

Two non-voting members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors have broken a long-standing taboo against wading into politics by publicly talking about how election-year considerations affect the decisions of U.S. central bankers.

The Federal Reserve sent some strong messages in its latest policy statement that it is heading toward new easing measures to buck up the weak economy. But the central bank may have a different caliber of weapon in mind other than launching another round of large-scale asset purchases, or QE3.

Asian stock markets advanced for the third straight session on Wednesday as sentiment continued to improve on hopes that the major central banks around the world will soon announce new round of stimulus measures to spur economic growth.

U.S. stock index futures point to a lower open Wednesday as investor sentiment was weighed down by lack of stimulus measures from policy makers around the globe to rejuvenate the faltering economic growth momentum.