VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday the worst was over for Russia's economy, which has been hit by Western economic sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and the fall in global oil prices.

The United States has urged countries to think twice before signing up to a new China-led Asian development bank that Washington sees as a rival to the World Bank, after Germany, France and Italy followed Britain in saying they would join.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday is expected to lay the groundwork for its first interest rate hike in nearly a decade, as it continues to weigh whether the U.S. recovery can hold up against collapsing oil prices and a soaring dollar.

Facebook Inc said it is adding a new feature to its messaging app that allows friends to send and receive money through it. Users can tap or click a dollar icon in a new chat window to send money to their friends, after they link a Visa

China has surpassed Germany to become the world's third largest arms exporter, a Stockholm-based think tank said in a report on Monday.

Federal authorities investigating the data breach at JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) are increasingly confident that a criminal case will be filed against the hackers in the coming months, the New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the investigation.

Thousands of fans turned out on Saturday for the first Formula E electric car race in the United States, with organizers saying the event along downtown Miami's bayfront would help boost more energy efficient mainstream automobile technology.

Australia expects to make a decision within weeks on whether it will seek to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Saturday.

Chinese automaker BYD (1211.HK) Co Ltd (002594.SZ), backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), aims to triple its production of batteries as it takes on Tesla Motors (TSLA.O) in the race to supply electric vehicles and boost energy storage.

From cut-price apple pies to free iPads, companies in China are transforming Sunday's dreaded consumer rights day into a shopping frenzy, to blunt the impact of being named and shamed in state broadcaster CCTV's annual expose.

Oil prices might have stabilized only temporarily because the global oil glut is worsening and U.S. production shows no sign of slowing, the International Energy Agency said on Friday.

European equities were set for a sixth straight week of gains on Friday, fuelled by a dramatic slide in the euro on the back of the European Central Bank's bond-buying plan that has kept euro zone yields near record lows.

KFC, the world's largest chain of fried chicken restaurants, may face pressure from consumer and environmental groups to change how its poultry are raised after McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) said it would switch to chicken raised without human antibiotics.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) is investing $200 million in photo-messaging app Snapchat, a source familiar with the deal said, striking its latest Silicon Valley deal as the Chinese ecommerce company builds up mobile services.

With shallow pockets but a deep commitment to promote "living wages", women's advocacy group UltraViolet has peppered Target Corp (TGT.N) with cheap location-focused online ads, challenging it to match Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT.N) promise of $10-an-hour base pay.