The Japanese government moves closer to taking more control over the struggling Tokyo Electric Power Co. but public debate remains fierce about whether the Bank of Japan should directly underwrite debt to fund disaster reconstruction.
Crude-oil futures add to their gains, supported by reports that anti-government forces are losing ground in the prolonged Libyan conflict.
China’s manufacturing activity picks up in March, though the pace of gains are on the weaker side, while inflationary pressures are beginning to ease, according to both government and independent surveys.
Gold futures lose ground in electronic trading on Friday, after hawkish comments made by a U.S. Federal Reserve official drive investors away from the metal.
Mergers and other corporate deals have been heating up for Australian companies so far this year, with the first quarter showing a jump in activity. And the pace hasn’t let up going into the new quarter.
Lew Sichelman helps one couple sort through their options for financing the cost of demolishing their old home and building a new one.
China may be on the verge of a big slowdown as its leaders and lenders squeeze the liquidity out of a system that has produced one asset bubble after another in the last few years, writes Howard Gold.
The tea party ought to be celebrating a deal to cut spending, but instead they are mad as hell, signaling that this is the high point for the movement, writes Rex Nutting.
The outperformance of developed-market equity has been a theme of 2011 as the emerging stars of the last two years finally paused for breath, writes David Cottle.
The devastation in Japan — the world’s No. 3 economy — was one of many challenges international stock-fund shareholders faced in the first quarter, which saw revolution in the Middle East and North Africa, rising oil prices, and the threat of a global market slowdown.
