Social networking titan Facebook filed to go public, seeking to raise $5 billion in the largest flotation ever by an Internet company on Wall Street. The paperwork for the initial public offering provided the first glimpse of the financial details of the Web giant launched eight years ago by Mark Zuckerberg from his Harvard University dorm room when he was just 19. Zuckerberg, in a letter to investors,... 

Banks locked in negotiations with Greece for a debt write-off deal expressed hopes for an accord in coming days amid “constructive discussions,” their spokesman said Wednesday. “Constructive discussions continue on the voluntary debt exchange as other matters move forward,” said Frank Vogl, spokesman for the Institute of International Finance which represents the banks. “We... 

European stocks closed mostly firmer Tuesday, recovering some of the ground lost the previous day on hopes for progress in Greek debt talks after EU leaders agreed to rein in budget deficits. Dealers said investors welcomed the EU summit commitment to abide by balanced budgets, which should ease fiscal pressures longer term, but continued wrangling over a Greek debt write-down means the crisis is... 

The chief executive of state-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland has turned down his hotly-disputed bonus of shares worth close to £1 million, RBS said Monday, amid a row over executive pay. Stephen Hester was due to receive a £963,000 ($1.5 million, 1.15 million euro) bonus this year on top of his £1.2 million salary, the bank had said Thursday. That announcement — amid government calls for pay... 

US stocks followed European counterparts higher Tuesday buoyed by encouraging economic news from Germany and China, and a strong reading from a New York regional economic activity indicator. But a poor earnings report from Citigroup spilled over to affect other bank shares and held back the bulls. After jumping more than one per cent in early trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back to... 

Greece and Europe belong together, Germany’s foreign minister said Sunday after meeting the debt-crippled country’s leaders ahead of a week of tough talks for Athens with its creditors. “With my visit in Greece I want to give a message to the Greek people that we want to solve the problems together,” Guido Westerwelle told reporters after talks with Greek Foreign Minister Stavros... 

The European Central Bank said Thursday its decision to make unlimited liquidity available to eurozone banks was helping to stabilise the region’s crisis-ridden economy as it left key rates unchanged. At its first policy-setting meeting of this year, the ECB held its main interest rates steady at 1.0 per cent, as expected, following two straight months of rate cuts. Bank chief Mario Draghi told... 

Europe’s stock markets drifted lower and the euro struck a new 16-month low Wednesday following mixed German economic growth data on the eve of key bond auctions and interest rate decisions in Britain and the eurozone. At close, London’s FTSE index of leading companies fell 0.45 per cent at 5,670.82 points. In Paris, the CAC-40 index lost 0.19 per cent to 3,204.83 points and in Frankfurt... 

Tokyo stocks opened 0.22 per cent higher on Wednesday following gains overnight on US and European markets. The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened up 18.70 points at 8,440.96. The Nikkei was likely to edge higher, tracking gains in Europe and the United States, said Chibagin Asset Management strategist Yoshihiro Okumura. “The sense of relief in overseas markets, as well as hope for... 

US stocks managed modest gains Monday as Wall Street awaited the unofficial kickoff of the fourth-quarter earnings season, which came shortly after the closing bell. After slipping into negative territory in early trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session up 32.77 points (0.26 per cent) to 12,392.69. The tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite added 2.34 points (0.09 per cent) to 2,676.56. The...