NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks closed at their highest level in 10 weeks on Monday and the S&P 500 pierced key technical levels as a weaker U.S. dollar lifted the energy and raw materials sectors. Strong results in Europe from BNP Paribas SA (BNPP.PA) and HSBC Plc (HSBA.L)(HBC.N) added to the upbeat tone and [...]

WASHINGTON/HOUSTON (Reuters) – BP Plc said on Monday it might still attempt the first of two operations to permanently plug its ruptured Gulf of Mexico well on Tuesday despite the technical delay of a crucial test. Optimism about the planned “static kill,” which will involve the injection of drilling mud into the top of the [...]

TOKYO – Stocks across Asia climbed early Tuesday after Wall Street opened August with a strong rally on positive indicators from around the globe. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average jumped 1.7 percent to 9,732.81 in early trade, and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.5 percent to 1,791.62. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.8 percent higher at [...]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said in an interview aired on Monday that the U.S. economy must grow faster and that unemployment is a “huge problem.” “We’ve got to keep on growing faster than we’re currently growing,” he said in a CBS interview taped Friday and aired on the “Early Show.” “We’ve got to [...]

LONDON/BEIJING (Reuters) – Manufacturing in China shrank in July for the first time since March 2009 while it perked up in the euro zone, according to surveys that underscored the unevenness of the global economic recovery. Global stock markets (.MIWD00000PUS) rose on Monday, viewing a declining Chinese manufacturing purchasing index as a signal of a [...]

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Federal Reserve President Ben Bernanke warned Monday that cuts in state government spending are slowing the US economic recovery, as he urged politicians to better manage funds in good times. Facing plummeting tax revenues and bound by rules demanding a balanced budget, local governments across the United States have slashed spending and [...]

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) – The economy is improving but has yet to recover fully, with high unemployment and a weak housing market leaving consumers unsettled, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday. This means monetary policy must remain accommodative until the economic recovery is on a sustainable path and job creation picks up, [...]

NEW YORK (AFP) – US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday said regulators would flesh out new Wall Street rules “as quickly as possible” and urged firms to change behavior now. In an address at New York University, Geithner said government watchdogs would detail sweeping financial reforms signed by President Barack Obama last month and [...]

WASHINGTON – The nation faces a long road to get back to good economic health, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday. Bernanke said progress is being made after the deepest recession since the 1930s. The worst of the financial crisis is behind the nation and the economy is growing again, he pointed out. “But [...]

WASHINGTON – It’s a rare bright spot in an otherwise troubled economy: The nation’s manufacturing sector has now grown for a solid year, and more of its companies say they’re ready to hire. Chip maker Texas Instruments says its business has recovered to pre-recession levels. Intel, which makes semiconductors, posted its best quarterly profit in [...]