Business and Finance news

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 […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is reiterating that Congress should not cut spending sharply while the economy is weak.
Bernanke tells the Joint Economic Committee that lawmakers face a delicate challenge: They must avoid making deep spending cuts that could impede the recovery. But he says they must also eventually cut spending more deeply than the […]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel hinted that the second Greek bailout package might have to be renegotiated amid increasing market speculation Wednesday that European leaders want to force private holders of Greek bonds to take bigger losses.
Merkel didn’t rule out altering the terms to the euro109 billion ($148 billion) package, saying the decision must be based […]

Asian stocks enjoyed a vigorous rebound early Tuesday after a pledge by European officials to resolve the region’s debt problems helped soothe market sentiment.
Oil prices rose to nearly $82 per barrel while the dollar slipped against the euro and the yen.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 shot up 1.8 percent to 8,524.56. South Korea’s Kospi index jumped 4 […]

Fear that Greece will default on its debt, perhaps triggering a financial chain reaction that will cause another global recession, hurt European stocks Monday and sent American stocks lower for a time.
The market tension came after a German politician suggested Greek finances are so bad the nation might have to leave the coalition of 17 […]

Congress gave President Barack Obama’s drive to promote jobs growth a boost Thursday by presenting him with a major overhaul of the patent system that the president has sought as a means to spur innovation and put more people back to work.
The Senate voted 89-9 to pass the patent bill and send it to Obama […]

Travelers across the nation waited for flights to resume in and out of East Coast airports that were closed by Tropical Storm Irene this weekend.
Irene was downgraded from a hurricane Sunday as winds ebbed around the time that the storm pushed into New York, the nation’s busiest air-traffic region.
Federal officials said airports reopened around Washington, […]

Asian stocks gave up early gains and fell Monday as fears that the U.S. is slipping back into recession caused investors to dump riskier assets.
Brent crude fell to near $106 a barrel in Asia as Libyan rebels entered Tripoli, boosting hopes the OPEC nation’s oil exports could resume soon. The dollar was stronger against the […]

Is it time to sell everything or buy with abandon?
Investors can’t make up their minds. This week was one of the most volatile in the history of Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average swung more than 400 points four days in a row _ down, then up, then down, then up.
It’s frightening, but experts […]

President Hugo Chavez said Friday that Venezuela’s oil production quota within OPEC should increase now that its proven crude reserves have grown.
Chavez said in a televised speech that oil production quotas will need to be revised.
“The more reserves you have, the higher the quota you have,” Chavez said.
Earlier this month, OPEC recognized Venezuela as the […]