Source: Bloomberg Federal Reserve policymakers see the improving economy reducing the need for new stimulus even as they stick to a plan to hold the benchmark interest rate near zero at least through late 2014. Fed officials called for additional stimulus only “if the economy lost momentum” or if inflation stays below their 2-per cent...

Source: Reuters In its latest bid to slow dollar inflows in a “global currency war,” Brazil has dealt an unexpected blow to its own commodity exporters, choking off medium-term trade financing at a vulnerable time for the sector. Brazil – a source of much of the world’s sugar, coffee, soy, beef and iron ore –...

Source: Bloomberg Half a world away from Wall Street, the board of directors of embattled Goldman Sachs Group Inc were meeting in India amid reports that senior executives have talked about splitting the roles of chief executive and chairman, both held now by Lloyd Blankfein. The meeting is the first in India for the directors...

Source: AFP Facebook will make its stock market debut in May with a record-setting initial public offering of shares, according to a report Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal. The world’s leading online social network has stopped selling shares on the secondary market in order to get a precise count of investors, the Journal said,...

Source: Reuters The proposed Volcker rule crackdown on trading and investing by banks could cause gasoline, electricity and natural gas prices to rise, according to a new report. The report, released on Wednesday by business information provider IHS Inc, seeks to gauge the rule’s impact on energy companies and markets, including oil refineries, natural gas...

Source: Reuters The US securities watchdog is looking at whether some high-frequency trading firms have used their close links to computerised stock exchanges to gain an unfair advantage over other investors, the Wall Street Journal said. The Securities and Exchange Commission is focusing on computer-driven trading platforms of exchanges, including BATS Global Markets Inc, the...

Source: Reuters US car maker General Motors on Thursday committed to invest A$1 billion (US$1.04 billion) in its Australian operations over the next decade after securing Australian government support to help it keep its car plant open until at least 2022. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the national and two state governments would inject A$275...

Source: Reuters Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo are set to be nominated to lead the World Bank, sources with knowledge of emerging market efforts to find candidates said on Tuesday. The candidacies of Okonjo-Iweala and Ocampo, who have credentials as both economists and diplomats and according to...

Source: Reuters US bank JPMorgan has agreed to buy a 19.9-per cent stake in Chinese trust company Bridge Trust Co, according to media reports. Bridge Trust is based in Zhengzhou and is majority owned by a state-controlled company China Power Investment Financial Co, the Journal said. It did not mention the value of the acquisition....

Source: AFP United Parcel Service (UPS) has reached a deal with TNT Express NV to buy the Dutch rival for EUR5.16 billion (US$6.79 billion), creating a dominant package-shipping operation in Europe, the companies announced in a joint statement on Monday. “The transaction will recreate a global leader in the logistics industry with more than EUR45...

Source: Reuters Starbucks Corp will open the first store in its new Evolution Fresh juice bar chain on Monday, its biggest move outside coffee and one it hopes will boost the company’s position in the US$50-billion health food sector. The juice bar business is, however, fragmented and intensely competitive and some analysts say the Evolution...

Source: Reuters Apple Inc, the world’s most valuable company, will discuss Monday what it plans to do with its US$98-billion cash hoard, raising expectations it may meet demands to pay a dividend for the first time since 1995. Just days after its stock touched US$600 per share, Apple issued a short press advisory saying it...