Wall Street ends at record in second straight weekly gain

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, with both the Dow and S&P 500 closing at records in a broad rally, though trading was light with many market participants still out for the Christmas holiday.


China raises Nepal aid five-fold in regional diplomacy push

China will increase official aid to Nepal by more than five times from fiscal 2015-16, officials said on Friday, to develop infrastructure in the landlocked nation where regional rival India has long wielded political influence.

Budget pressure unlikely to deflect Iran from nuclear goals

A big oil price slide will hurt Iran's attempts to rescue battered living standards, but economic pain is unlikely to soften its stance in nuclear talks or end aid to allies such as Syria, matters seen by its ruling clerics as strategic priorities.

Toshiba CEO says will consider overseas locations for chip plant

Toshiba Corp will decide during the next business year from April on where to build an additional memory chip plant and will consider overseas locations for the facility, Chief Executive Hisao Tanaka said on Friday.


Latest News

"Star Trek 3," the latest film in the intergalactic franchise featuring Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise, will open in U.S. theaters on July 8, 2016, Paramount Pictures said on Tuesday.
Procrastinating holiday shoppers can now grab one of Miami’s most iconic two-seaters: the all-white 1986 Ferrari Testarossa driven by TV cops "Sonny" Crockett and Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs in the hit 1980s series "Miami Vice."
Taylor Swift's album "1989" reclaimed the top spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart on Wednesday, besting rapper Nicki Minaj's new release "The Pinkprint."
Saudi Arabia's finance minister said there was no need for the kingdom to create a sovereign wealth fund to manage its oil wealth, rebuffing suggestions by prominent officials and businessmen.
Russia's ruble rose on Friday to its strongest levels in more than three weeks, in a sharp rebound from its recent all-time lows, after the government ordered exporters to sell some of their hard currency revenues.
Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors promoted younger executives on Friday, in moves analysts said would help smoothen an eventual leadership succession at the family-owned conglomerate.
"The Interview," the Sony Pictures film about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, opened in more than 300 movie theaters across the United States on Christmas Day, drawing many sell-out audiences and statements by patrons that they were championing freedom of expression.
The dollar edged up against the yen on Friday in light bargain-hunting following two sessions of losses, with some markets slowly getting into gear after the Christmas holiday.
Brent crude futures held above $60 a barrel on Friday as strong U.S. economic data supported the market, but oil prices were track for their fifth straight weekly decline as a building supply glut capped gains.
Microsoft Corp's Xbox Live and Sony Corp's PlayStation Networks experienced user connection problems on Christmas Day, for which a hacker group claimed responsibility.