Oil rounded out its best monthly gain in six years on Thursday, with the two global benchmarks for crude rising between 20 and 25 percent in April, helped by a weaker dollar and bets that a supply glut would ease.
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Ratings agencies say no default if Greece misses ECB, IMF payments
Most top credit rating agencies say they would not cut Greece's rating to default if it misses a payment to the International Monetary Fund or European Central Bank, a stance that could keep vital ECB funding flowing into the financial system.
China's struggles argue for stimulus all round
China's factories stayed stuck in the slow lane in April while Japanese output went into reverse and South Korea suffered its worst export performance in two years, adding urgency to calls for more state stimulus in all three economies.
Dollar dips, trade thins on May Day after stormy week
A holiday in most of Europe thinned trade on Friday after a tumultuous week when the dollar dove, bond yields soared and stock markets in Europe and the United States weakened.
Push to axe U.S. crude export ban strengthens in House: lawmakers
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives who are trying to end the decades-old ban on U.S. crude oil exports said on Thursday they were gaining support after a Democrat joined the Republican-led effort. Representative Henry Cuellar became the first Democrat to sign on to a bill launched in February by Representative Joe Barton, a Republican and fellow Texan.
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Stock markets worldwide posted a second straight session of losses on Thursday after more weak earnings reports, with all three major U.S. indexes plunging more than 1 percent.
Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) is the mystery bidder for Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (SOBIV.ST), the rare disease specialist which disclosed this week that a potential buyer had made a preliminary offer, people with knowledge of the situation said.
U.S. stocks, led by the Nasdaq, sold off on Thursday as Apple shares declined, and tech and biotech quarterly results disappointed.
Beijing authorities have fined U.S.-based J.R. Simplot's China processing unit, which supplies frozen french fries to McDonald's Corp, 3.92 million yuan ($632,370) for water pollution, state media and Simplot said.
The euro zone ended four months of deflation in April with consumer prices unchanged from year-ago levels, removing the threat of persistent price declines as energy costs pushed up in the month.
In the 1980s when Sony and Toshiba were setting the agenda in the global TV and memory chip markets Japan was bristling with confidence as a hub of technological innovation.
U.S. crude oil hit a five-month high on Thursday as the dollar slipped to its lowest since February and as more evidence emerged of a gradual balancing of the U.S. domestic market.
The euro rose for a third day against the dollar on Thursday, pushing above $1.12 for the first time in two months on growing concern over the U.S. economy's prospects.
General Motors (GM.N) on Thursday will announce a multibillion-dollar, multiyear investment in several U.S. manufacturing plants in a move to boost production and vehicle quality, a person familiar with the matter said.
