Business and Finance news

Home sales and construction will improve this year, contributing

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner

South Korea and Indonesia will probably keep interest rates unchanged this week as a drop in their currencies risks heightening inflationary pressures even as the faltering global economy undermines growth prospects.
All 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News expect the Bank of Korea to keep the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate unchanged at 3.25 percent on […]

A national strike fueled by widespread dissent over spiraling gas prices paralyzed Nigeria on Monday, as tens of thousands of protesters took over the empty streets to criticize government corruption in one voice.
Protests remained largely peaceful across the country on the strike’s first day, though a police shooting in Lagos left one dead and four […]

A day after taking over the job as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray defended his role and says he’ll work to win Congress over.
"The appointment is valid, I’m now the director of the bureau," said Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general. "The important thing for us is that […]

Fewer Americans filed claims for unemployment insurance payments last week, showing the labor market is starting 2012 on better footing than a year earlier.
Applications for jobless benefits (INJCJC) decreased 15,000 in the week ended Dec. 31 to 372,000, Labor Department figures showed today. The median estimate of 38 economists in a Bloomberg News survey […]

SPREAD THE REGION: Sandy Weber, VP and district director with US Bank, has been elected to a one-year term as chairwoman of North County Inc., a regional development organization.
Weber succeeds Patty Gould, the Pattonville School District’s school and business partnership director, who was chair of the board for 2011.
In announcing Weber’s appointment, Gould said Weber […]

Yields on India

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron pledged more action to deal with