Business and Finance news

His legacy tarnished and his hopes of clinging to power dashed, Silvio Berlusconi faces daunting legal and financial challenges now that he has left office and the prospect of life outside the international spotlight.
He has vowed he won’t run again for office, though few expect he’ll abandon Italian politics for good. Berlusconi himself has already […]

The prospect of new governments in Greece and Italy helped support market sentiment Friday, at the end of a hugely-volatile week when investors fretted over the future of the euro currency and the outlook for the global economy.
With Greece having appointed Lucas Papademos as the prime minister of a coalition government, and Italy expected to […]

Contradicted by key former executives and challenged by his company’s ex-lawyers, James Murdoch is expected back for a second grilling in Britain’s Parliament Thursday over the phone hacking scandal that has shaken his father’s media empire.
Although the senior News Corp. executive has long insisted he knew nothing of the culture of criminality whose exposure has […]

Chrysler said Tuesday its U.S. sales jumped 27 percent in October, while General Motors reported a slimmer 2 percent increase on increased demand for both cars and trucks.
Chrysler Group LLC sold more than 114,000 cars and trucks last month compared with 90,000 a year earlier. The results marked the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker’s best October […]

Asian markets were mostly lower in early trading Monday, as investors shifted their focus from Europe to the U.S. economy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.5 percent to 9,096.27. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.4 percent to 19,938.46, while South Korea’s Kospi was 0.4 percent lower at 1,921.78. Benchmarks in Australia and Singapore also fell, while […]

The Commerce Trust Co. has tapped David Krauss of The Stolar Partnership to oversee the bank’s wealth management services for ultra high-net worth individuals and families.
Krauss currently is a partner at The Stolar Partnership in downtown St. Louis and heads the law firm’s Stolar Family Office business unit, which provides investment oversight for high-net worth individuals.
Krauss will join Commerce in December as managing director of The […]

U.S. stock futures are mixed after European leaders said they made progress on resolving the region’s debt problems at a weekend summit but delayed offering any details.
European leaders say they will unveil plans to help resolve the crisis by Wednesday. Worries about Europe’s debt problems have helped drag global stocks up and down over the […]

The protesters at the heart of the Occupy Wall Street movement were planning a day of rest Sunday, a day after rallies across the globe drew thousands who marched and chanted and, in some cases, grew violent.
In New York City, the group that insists on being leaderless had nothing on its agenda save its nightly […]

Asian markets were mixed in early trading Monday, as investors evaluated a pledge by Germany and France to ensure European banks have the capital to weather any shock that may occur from the region’s debt crisis.
On Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that a comprehensive response to the debt crisis […]

Revolutionary fighters are shelling Moammar Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte ahead of a renewed push on the city, one of the last bastions of support for the fugitive leader.
Anti-Gadhafi forces have pushed to within less than half a mile (kilometer) from loyalist fighters dug in around the Ouagadougou conference center and Green Square in the heart […]