AP - World stock markets mostly fell Thursday as the sharp rally started earlier in the week ran out of steam amid grim economic and corporate news and unease ahead of this weekend's G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers.
AFP - Japan reported its worst economic showing in 35 years Thursday and China, Australia and Germany unveiled further bleak data, piling pressure on top finance ministers about to meet for anti-crisis talks.
Reuters - U.S. lawmakers pressured the top U.S. accounting rulemaker for new guidance on mark-to-market accounting within three weeks or face legislation to change the rule that has forced banks to record billions of dollars in asset writedowns. -- read full article
Reuters - Stocks rallied for a third day on Thursday on relief that a ratings cut by S&P in General Electric was just one notch and no further cuts loomed, while data showed signs of stabilization in consumer spending.
Reuters - Allen Stanford, the billionaire Texan accused of an $8 billion fraud by U.S. regulators, has refused to cooperate in the government's probe, a court filing showed on Wednesday. -- read full article
Reuters - Stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday after JP Morgan Chase's chief executive said his bank was profitable in January and February, echoing comments by Citigroup's CEO a day earlier.
AP - Investors struggled but managed to turn Wall Street's best performance this year into a two-day advance. Stocks ended with modest gains Wednesday but the Dow Jones industrial average still recorded its first two-day climb since Feb. 5-6. The buying was far more subdued than on Tuesday when Citigroup Inc.'s upbeat assessment of its business sent investors rushing into the market, in part to cover bets that stocks would continue to slide.
Reuters - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission aims to issue a proposal in April to restore the so-called uptick rule and will look at other ways to address short-selling in the stock market, SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro said on Wednesday. -- read full article
AP - Dramatic changes in the global economy may merit restoring a federal rule aimed at preventing a massive plunge in a stock price caused by a rush of short sellers, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday.
AP - Asian markets stalled Thursday, with Japan's index off more than 2 percent, as investors began to doubt a global rally could be sustained amid more grim news about the region's powerhouse economies.
