A weakening global economy will blunt cellphone market sales growth this year, research firm Gartner said. Gartner said it expects market growth to slow to 11% from 16% last year, while in U.S. dollar terms growth would slow to 9% from 11%. The world's top cellphone maker Nokia has forecast the market will fall this

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, may come under pressure from within OPEC ranks to reduce supplies to prevent a further fall in crude prices when the group meets on Sept. 9. While OPEC is unlikely to change its official supply target at the meeting in Vienna, it is pumping almost 1 million barrels

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods jumped a surprising 1.3 percent in July, while a gauge of business investment also rose unexpectedly, a government report showed on Wednesday. Orders for durable goods, items meant to last three years or more, were up after an upwardly revised 1.3 percent gain in June, the Commerce Department

U.S. mortgage applications rose for the first time in three weeks as interest rates edged lower, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended August 22 increased 0.5 percent to 421.6. Mortgage applications during

Futures fell by around 0.4 percent on Wednesday as concerns lingered about the banking sector. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said on Tuesday that the number of troubled U.S. banks rose 30 percent to 117 U.S. banks in Q2, the highest level in five years. The Wall Street Journal reported that FDIC may have to

The New York attorney general's office is probing the relationship between Fidelity Investments and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in connection with the sale of auction-rate securities, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a person familiar with the investigation. Investigators are looking at whether Fidelity's relationship with Goldman may have given the mutual fund giant an

The announcement of first half results by Marfin Popular Bank (CPB.CY) and Hellenic Bank (HB.CY) on Thursday is expected to dominate the earnings reporting calendar with both banks expected to report lower profits compared to last year. Marfin Popular is forecast by HSBC to report EUR 226 mln in net profit for the first half.