The pace of credit growth halved in February, as expected, but some economists said the central bank would probably not wait long before increasing banks' required reserves for a third time this year and perhaps even raising borrowing costs. "We believe more decisive policy tightening measures

Buffett has more than $4.5 billion invested in Munich Re and Swiss Reinsurance Co. , choosing to put Berkshire’s cash in two companies that account for more than a third of the global market instead of using the money to compete against them. Had Buffett, as Berkshire’s chairman and c

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Automatic gunfire was heard near the Presidential palace in Niamey, the capital of Niger , causing people to abandon the area, witnesses said. Tandja, 71, dissolved parliament in May and assumed emergency powers after the Constitutional Court rejected his call for a

Telstra has disappointed its 1.6 million shareholders yet again - is there any end to this torture? PITY the poor Telstra shareholder. Something like 25 major companies have reported their profit results in the reporting season to date - 20 have been better than expected, three in line

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.6 percent to 1,081.54 at 2:58 p.m. in New York, trimming the week’s advance to less than 0.7 percent. The euro weakened 0.6 percent after earlier tumbling as much as 1.2 percent to touch a nine-month low against the dollar. Oil and copper

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated 0.4 percent to 1,074.36 at 1 p.m. in New York, trimming the week’s advance to less than 0.8 percent. The MSCI World Index of stocks in 23 developed nations slipped 0.1 percent. The euro slid as much as 1.2 percent to touch a nine-month low aga

The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index dropped to 73.7 from January’s 74.4. The measure averaged 88.9 during the economic expansion that ended in December 2007. Employment unexpectedly dropped in January, while an increase in the workweek signaled compani

The 0.2 percent decrease in stockpiles followed a 0.5 percent increase the previous month, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Sales advanced 0.9 percent after jumping 2.4 percent in November. A record inventory drawdown last year means companies will need to

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said China needs to monitor inflation as analysts forecast consumer prices rose in January by the most since 2008. Consumer prices probably advanced 2.1 percent in January from a year earlier, a third straight gai