Business and Finance news

Economic growth in the U.S. this quarter is accelerating even more than previously anticipated as business investment picks up and stockpiles fall at a slower pace, according to economists at Morgan Stanley in New York.
The world’s largest economy is poised to grow at a 5.1 percent annual rate from October through December, according […]

WASHINGTON — One of the biggest challenges to ending the foreclosure crisis is this: A surprising number of homeowners who get their monthly payments reduced fall behind again within a year.   When borrowers get into financial trouble, lenders have several ways to help. They can offer grace periods, longer repayment schedules, lower interest […]

A group of noteholders of bankrupt regional theme park operator Six Flags Inc said on Sunday it submitted an alternative reorganization plan that transfers most of the equity to them.
The group said their plan, submitted to Six Flags’ board of directors on November 25, was supported by noteholders owning more than $500 million of […]

Twitter Inc. will reportedly try premium accounts in Japan through its subsidiary there, according to reports from Asia on Friday.
Media Asia reported that an official from DG Mobile, a subsidiary of Twitter's Japanese partner Digital Garage, talked about the plans at the Mobidec2009 conference.
The site said the premium accounts will show some text on tweets […]

Creditor protection for your registered retirement savings plan has been delayed again by political posturing over Ontario’s plan to adopt a harmonized sales tax.
The HST, a combined federal and provincial sales tax totalling 13 per cent on most goods and services as of next July, would also whittle away your retirement savings.
But it would do […]

Wall Street cash bonuses are set to increase by about 40 percent this year, the Wall Street Journal said citing a report by compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates.
In a report to be released later on Thursday, Johnson Associates projects that the biggest increases in year-end cash bonuses and equity awards will go to employees […]

Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, said investors are wrong to bet that China will restrain its unprecedented stimulus after the economy accelerated in the third quarter.
“The Chinese really are fixated on one thing and one thing alone which is social stability — they don’t want to take a risk of another […]

China’s government should keep fiscal stimulus spending intact for another year to allow for a “full recovery in 2011,” central bank adviser Fan Gang said.
Investment in China’s real estate sector is starting to resume and some industries are beginning to utilize previously idled capacity, Fan said. The government’s stimulus is needed to keep […]

Russia’s economy may contract by a “very serious” 7.5 percent this year as dependence on energy exports left the country more vulnerable to the global financial crisis than expected, President Dmitry Medvedev said.
“I must admit that we sunk below our lowest expectations,” Medvedev said in an interview to be broadcast today at 9 […]

The Federal Reserve signaled that the U.S. economy’s return to growth is insufficient to withdraw stimulus as officials seek to reduce the highest unemployment rate in a quarter century.
While the economy has “picked up,” the central bank’s planned asset purchases will help ensure a “gradual return to higher levels of resource utilization,” the […]