After a year of landmark deals which are opening new markets for Islamic finance, the industry is under fresh pressure to address some of its shortcomings and prove that it is not just an imitation of conventional finance.
Investors
Wall St. ends lower with oil prices, renewed Greece worries
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended lower on Wednesday, snapping a two-day rally as energy shares slid with oil prices and as investors' anxiety about the euro zone returned in the closing minutes of trading.
Dollar steadies after slide, oil retreats
The U.S. dollar steadied on Wednesday after its worst day in more than a year, and a retreat in oil prices after four days of gains halted a rally in European stock markets.
Global stocks, oil rally on Greek plan; dollar falls
Stock markets rallied around the world on Tuesday while the U.S. dollar fell after the new Greek government dropped calls for a write-down of its foreign debt, easing concerns about growing instability in the euro zone.
Wall Street posts second day of strong gains, led by energy
U.S. stocks jumped more than 1 percent on Tuesday, led by energy shares as oil prices extended their recent rally, while higher-than-expected January car sales also bolstered the advance.
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U.S. stocks closed down on Friday after a volatile session as investors worried at the end of a rough month for the market about weak U.S. growth data and whether instability in Europe could hurt corporate earnings in the United States.
U.S. stocks enjoyed a late afternoon rally and closed higher on Thursday as an upturn in oil prices and a rally in Apple and Boeing shares helped offset some disappointing earnings and lingering questions over U.S. monetary policy.
Asian shares retreated on Thursday after the Federal Reserve unexpectedly lifted its view on the economy, signaling that the U.S. central bank remains firmly on track with plans to raise interest rates this year.
U.S. stocks closed down on Wednesday, driven by a sharp decline in the S&P 500 energy sector, after the Federal Reserve said the domestic economy was growing at a solid pace, signaling it remains on track to raise interest rates later this year.
Investors wiped $35 billion off Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) market value on Tuesday without any clear-cut, single explanation. The world's largest software company, whose shares had climbed about 30 percent over the past 12 months to near 15-year highs, instead worried investors with a series of troubling signals in its earnings report and conference call on Monday.
Asian stocks showed some resilience on Wednesday as investors speculated whether the Federal Reserve could take a dovish turn in its post-meeting statement later in the session, amid signs a stronger dollar was hurting U.S. corporate profits.
Chinese actress Zhao Wei has taken a major stake in Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd's film division, bringing some star power to a company that warned on Monday it could rack up losses of as much as HK$600 million ($77.41 million) for 2014.
World stock indexes fell on Tuesday following disappointing company earnings, while the dollar retreated after an unexpected decline in U.S. durable goods orders.
Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA could take a charge of about 52 billion reais ($20 billion) in its delayed third-quarter results to reduce the value of some assets, a Veja magazine blog said on Monday.
