Hot finance topics

A third round of large-scale asset purchases by the Federal Reserve is not needed and would compound the difficulties of tightening monetary policy when the time finally comes, a top Fed official said on Thursday.
“Personally I don’t see how you can justify it given the state of the current economy,” Dallas Federal Reserve President […]

Officials say talks between Greece and private creditors on halving the country’s privately held debt load have ended and a deal is very close.
A statement from creditor representatives Charles Dallara and Jean Lemierre says the two sides are “close to the finalization of a voluntary (private sector involvement) … We expect to conclude next week […]

China stands to be the biggest beneficiary of U.S. and European plans for sanctions on Iran

Heads of iceberg lettuce are being removed from grocery store shelves in at least seven states after salmonella was found in an Arizona field adjacent to the grower’s property.
None of the lettuce in the markets has tested positive for salmonella but the grower alerted retailers of the test results and sought a withdrawal of the […]

Delta Air Lines Inc. is boosting its flying out of New York’s LaGuardia airport, adding routes that target American Airlines and put it in a better position to compete against United.
Delta says the additions make it the biggest airline between the New York area and cities in the U.S. That should help it grab more […]

China’s attempts to deflate its property bubble come at a perilous time.
Fears that the euro might collapse, unleashing a tsunami of financial and economic disruptions around the globe, have added urgency to concerns that China’s campaign to cool overheated housing prices may go too far.
As economic growth wanes, Beijing has begun easing tight credit policies […]

The unemployment rate, which has refused to budge from the 9 percent neighborhood for two and a half frustrating years, suddenly dropped in November, driven in part by small businesses that finally see reason to hope and hire.
Economists said there was a long way to go but liked what they saw.
The rate fell to 8.6 […]

Hungary has slammed Moody’s decision to downgrade its credit rating to junk status, describing it Friday as another unjustified financial attack against the country.
Hungary, which last week asked the International Monetary Fund and the European Union for possible financial help, is feeling the fallout from the debt crisis in the 17-country eurozone, even though it […]

The investigation into a bullet train crash in China last summer that killed 40 people has come and gone with scarcely any fresh information released about what led to the disaster.
The secrecy surrounding the investigator’s report, originally due in September and reportedly extended until late November, is typical of the sensitivities shown toward wider troubles […]

Tens of thousands of stranded Qantas Airways passengers worldwide scrambled to reach their destinations Sunday after the airline abruptly grounded its global fleet over a dispute with striking workers. Australia’s government sought a court order to force the flagship carrier’s planes back in the air.
Australian officials expressed frustration over the sudden action by the world’s […]