Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday the government had to beware declaring victory too soon after managing to avert complete financial collapse by bailing out the nation's banks. "History suggests that exiting too soon from policies designed to contain a financial crisis can significantly prolong an economic downturn," he said in prepared remarks for

Billionaire financier George Soros told Reuters on Thursday he had found a $100 billion route to unlock climate talks in Copenhagen, while one business group complained the talks were "tone deaf" to the private sector. U.N. talks in the Danish capital meant to agree the outline of a new climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto

 World equities were generally weaker on Thursday, adding to five sessions of losses, although Europe rebounded after recent hits over some of the region's more vulnerable economies. Globally, investors have been closing books ahead of year-end in a climate of concern about the credit worthiness of various troubled economies. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's on

Britain's top share index added 0.3 percent in early trade on Thursday, as strength in banks offset weakness in miners and oils, and investors awaited the latest pronouncements from the Bank of England. At 0940 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 1.26 points at 5,221.16, having closed 19.24 points lower at 5,203.89, its lowest closing

Britain will need to take tough decisions on spending once the economy rebounds but implementing deep cuts now would jeopardise the recovery, finance minister Alistair Darling said on Thursday. In media interviews the day after he announced tax rises on all but the poorest and slapped a 50 percent levy on bank bonuses, Darling said

Citigroup Inc plans to pay back TARP by raising money in an equity offering that could be announced as early as Thursday and could be some $20 billion, television network CNBC reported, citing sources. Earlier on Wednesday, the bank's chairman, Dick Parsons, told CNBC that Citigroup was in talks with regulators about repaying the funds

Apple Inc is preparing to launch a tablet personal computer in late March or April, with manufacturer partners poised to roll out as many as 1 million units per month, according to an Oppenheimer research note. The highly anticipated tablet is expected to pitch Apple into the digital book market popularized by Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader.