Hot finance topics

U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch and Asian brokerage CLSA are separately raising investment funds focused on Asian property, indicating continued confidence in the region’s economies, executives from the two companies said at the weekend.
Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is raising a Pacific Rim real estate fund worth around $2.5-$3 billion, Damian Chunilal, Merrill’s […]

The average price of regular gasoline jumped more than a penny to a new record high, a AAA survey showed Thursday.
The average price of regular unleaded rose 1.4 cents to $3.357 a gallon from the $3.343 the day before, according to AAA’s Web site.
Earlier Thursday, AAA had mistakenly reported an incorrect average gas price.
Gas […]

American Airlines said it would cancel nearly 500 flights Tuesday as it again performs detailed inspections of a key aircraft model.
A statement from American said that the inspections pertain to questions raised by the Federal Aviation Administration and American safety officials about how a certain bundle of wires is secured to the MD-80 aircraft. […]

It’s got all the makings of an international geopolitical thriller: World powers move their armies into a violent, remote, and politically fragile region brimming with valuable oil and natural gas resources; except it’s not fiction.
Central Asia is the scene of this powerplay. Europe is maneuvering to satisfy its energy needs while it cuts greenhouse […]

Dutch wages increased more in the first quarter than in the whole of last year, adding to concerns that accelerating inflation will damp economic growth.
Wages determined by collective bargaining rose 2.7 percent from the year-earlier quarter, compared with a 2.1 percent gain for all of 2007, the Voorburg-based national statistics bureau said on […]

The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission and the three audiovisual unions that work at the America’s Center reached an agreement Friday to end the labor agreement deadlock that has kept union members from their jobs at the center since March 24.
A general consensus was reached in a joint meeting of representatives […]

Reports of suspected mortgage fraud rose 42% last year as banks became more leery of lies on loan applications.
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said Thursday that there were 52,868 reports for mortgage fraud in 2007, up from 37,313 a year earlier. Mortgage fraud reports were the third-most common type of suspicious activity.
Banks […]

Delta Air Lines Inc. expanded its offering on Tuesday of designer meals for $7 or $8 apiece, as well as $3 bottles of Vitamin Water, part of an industrywide effort to collect incremental revenue from added services.
Delta will offer its "Eats" meals to customers on all flights within the United States that are 750 […]

The Bush administration’s top housing official, under criminal investigation and intense pressure from Democratic critics, announced Monday he is quitting.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson said his resignation will take effect on April 18. The move comes at a shaky time for the economy and the Bush administration, as the housing industry’s crisis […]