The number of workers filing new applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, according to a government report on Thursday that pointed to a labor market still under stress even as the economy grows. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 480,000 in the week ended January 30, the
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U.S. stock index futures extended declines on Thursday after data showed initial claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week. * S&P 500 futures dropped 11.2 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average
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Highest price for a work at auction Alberto Giacometti’s L’homme qui marche I (Walking Man I) sold for £65,001,250 or €74,185,983 at Sotheby’s in London on Wednesday night, becoming the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction. Formerly part of the corporate collection of Dresdner Bank AG, the sculpture came into the possession
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The Bank of England announced on Thursday no increase to its unprecedented 200 billion pound asset-buying programme, halting the scheme after 11 months in a move that could signal a return to more normal policy. It also left UK interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent, as expected. "The Committee will continue to
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Toyota Motor Corp expects costs and lost sales from its massive safety recall to total $2 billion by the end of March, keeping it in the red for the year despite its strongest profit in six quarters. Toyota's recall of more than 8 million vehicles due to problems with unintended acceleration has wiped out $30
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South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Thursday it aimed to treble smartphone shipments this year to more than 18 million units as the world's second-biggest cellphone maker scrambles to make a mark in the fast-growing smartphone market. Beefing up smartphone offerings is a key challenge faced this year by Samsung and its home
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The Consumer Price Index for January 2010 decreased by 2.22 units or 1.97% to 110.38 units, compared to 112.60 in December 2009, and the rate of increase of the Index and therefore the rate of inflation for January 2010 was 2.4% compared to 2.0% in December 2009 and 1.1% in January 2009. According to a
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Britain's top shares shed 0.8 percent early on Thursday, as energy stocks fell after Royal Dutch Shell's quarterly results disappointed and investors were cautious ahead of the latest Bank of England monetary policy decision. By 0917 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was 39.22 points lower at 5,213.93, after the index snapped a three-session winning streak
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Turmoil brewing in Greece could slow the European Central Bank's withdrawal of its extra liquidity measures, especially if other countries become infected with similar woes. Some analysts even speculate a north-south divide could develop within the ECB on how to approach a growing crisis around the public finances and recovery of the currency bloc's more
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The euro hit a seven-month low against the dollar on Thursday as concerns intensified that Greece's fiscal problems would spread to other highly-indebted euro zone countries, while European stocks followed Asia lower. Investors are looking to monetary policy decisions by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. The BoE looks set to halt
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