Oil firmed above $68 a barrel on Tuesday, in its most sustained rally since hitting record highs in July last year, supported by renewed optimism over a global economic recovery. U.S. oil futures looked set to rise for the 10th straight session on Tuesday, based on Reuters continuation charts, in the most consecutive daily gains
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Oil giant BP Plc said it had increased its cost reduction targets for 2009 by 50 percent to $3 billion, as it reported a halving in second quarter profits due to lower oil prices and weaker refining margins. Europe's second largest oil company by market value said on Tuesday it had achieved its original 2009
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U.S. and Chinese officials began grappling on Monday with how and when to withdraw the huge economic stimulus spending each has applied and to put in place measures to promote steadier long-term growth. On the first of two days of economic and political talks, a U.S. delegation including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged China to
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The major music labels are planning a new digital album format that will debut with a tablet-like personal computer from Apple Inc in September, people familiar with the plans said on Monday. The labels are attempting to revive the multi-track album format with new software that packages songs, traditional album liner notes, music videos, and
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The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is planning to issue a report next month that suggests that wild swings in oil prices were significantly driven by speculators, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Tuesday. A 2008 report by the main U.S. futures-market regulator that attributed oil-price swings primarily on supply and
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World stocks extended gains to fresh 9-month peaks on Tuesday while the dollar fell to a 2009 low after upbeat U.S. data and optimism over corporate earnings prompted investors to add risky assets. U.S. stocks rose on Monday after data showed home sales surged in June, a sign that the domestic housing market — which
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Asian stocks hit a 10-month high for a seventh day on Tuesday as investors were lifted by improving corporate earnings, though the non-stop pace of the rally caused some to wonder if it was overdone. The Australian dollar shot to its highest level since last September after the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia
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Figures from the Cyprus Statistical Service show that tourists from Ireland were the biggest spenders in June, spending on average EUR 1,188 per person, or EUR 116.8 per day, compared with a low of EUR 329 per person or EUR 77.7 per day for Israelis. Of course, distance explains much of the difference: tourists from
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday China can play a major role in restoring global growth by continuing to encourage more consumption at home and exporting less. At the start of a two-day U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, Geithner avoided any mention of sensitive currency issues and instead focused on encouraging Beijing to
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British businesses are slowly finding it easier to raise funds from debt markets and bank loans, two surveys showed on Monday, a day after Britain's finance minister said he was concerned about lending costs. Companies were able to raise more finance from longer-term markets like corporate bonds in the second quarter, according to respondents in
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