Profitability and cash flow generation across the global integrated oil and gas industry appear to have bottomed out, helped by the recent recovery in oil prices and easing in industry costs, Moody's Investors Service said in a new Industry Outlook. The improving global demand conditions supported by a gradual economic upturn are expected to underpin

France's PSA Peugeot Citroen could buy a large stake in Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp as part of plan to deepen ties to ride out the auto industry's worst ever slump and take a lead in electric vehicles. Shares of Mitsubishi jumped as much as 22 percent on Thursday after the Nikkei business daily reported Peugeot

Bank of America Corp <BAC.N> said it would repay $45 billion of taxpayer bailout funds, a move that could free the top U.S. lender from pay curbs as it looks to hire a new CEO, but also makes it more vulnerable to further economic shocks. The surprise agreement on Wednesday marks a critical victory for

The global financial crisis could push 11 million more people into poverty and another 23 million to the brink of poverty in eastern Europe and central Asia by 2010, according to a new World Bank report. The revealing study of how families are dealing with the effects of the crisis shows they are being hit

Gold struck another peak on Thursday because of its investor appeal as a safe asset and Asian stocks looked past Wall Street's weak finish to eke out gains. The yen slipped amid growing market talk that Japan may step up quantitative easing to battle deflation. Gold surged to a new high of $1,224.65 an ounce,

U.S. online job postings fell slightly in November, due to a dip in demand for health care-related positions and employers' continued unease regarding economic recovery, a private research group said on Thursday. Monster Worldwide Inc <MWW.O>, an online careers and recruiting company, said its employment index fell to 119 points in November from 120 in

Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday that Asian banks have a relatively small exposure to Dubai and Dubai World companies, based on the rating agency's preliminary survey of the banks it rates in East Asia, South Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Therefore, no rating actions have been taken on Asian banks as a result of the

World stocks advanced for a third straight session on Wednesday with anxiety over Dubai's debt problems taking a backseat and focus shifting to this week's economic numbers and the European Central Bank's rate meeting. Euro zone government bond futures fell as traders braced for a U.S. private sector employment report later in the session for