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Japan’s unemployment rate held steady while payrolls rose in January, adding to signs the nation’s recovery is gaining pace after a temporary slowdown.
The jobless rate remained unchanged from the previous month at 4.9 percent, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. That figure matched the median estimate of 29 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. […]

Existing home sales for the first half of February were down by 13 per cent
Larilyn Bennett is looking for a condo in the competitive Toronto market. But she’s in no hurry.
"I’m going to take my time. I think there is a lot of choice out there," says Bennett, 32.
When she purchased her […]

It doesn’t come as a shock that Republicans aren’t thrilled with President Obama’s budget proposal. But Democrats aren’t exactly jumping for joy either.
Obama’s budget targets community block grants, a program that helps low-income people pay their energy bills, and the popular Pell grant program to aid college students. All are part of the social […]

Drugstore operator and pharmacy benefits manager CVS Caremark Corp. said Monday that Larry Merlo will succeed Thomas Ryan as CEO on March 1, about two months earlier than expected.
CVS Caremark said Merlo has been working with Ryan for months and is ready to be the company’s CEO. Merlo was president of CVS’s pharmacy operations for […]

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other banks drove stock indexes higher Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose to its highest level in two and a half years.
JPMorgan rose 1 percent after reporting that its income soared 47 percent in the fourth quarter. The bank set aside less money to cover bad loans and said […]

Abu Dhabi is taking over management of the city’s port from neighboring Dubai’s port firm DP World, which manages similar facilities around the world.
DP World and Abu Dhabi Terminals said Thursday that ADT will assume management control of Mina Zayed in the new year, when an existing management services agreement expires. The move won’t have […]

South Korea may face the risks of a foreign capital influx and asset bubbles if interest rates are increased further to curb inflation, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said.
“Raising interest rates to contain inflation could easily cause a herd behavior in foreign capital inflow and create asset bubbles,” the ministry said in an […]

OPEC oil ministers indicated as they convened Saturday that they see no reason to change output targets given the current global economic uncertainty, though they expect demand for crude will continue to grow.
With prices hovering just below $90 per barrel, there was much discussion about whether it would soon broach the psychological barrier of $100.
Oil […]

New Zealand’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, saying increases in the next two years will be slower than earlier indicated as the nation’s worst earthquake in 80 years curbs near-term economic growth.
“It seems prudent to keep the cash rate low until the recovery becomes more robust and underlying inflation pressures show […]

Mall of the Americas’ owner has secured a three-year extension on the Miami center’s $52.5 million mortgage with Allstate Life Insurance Co.
The loan’s new maturity date is June 1, 2015, according to court documents.
Palm Beach-based Sterling Organization owns the 790,000-square-foot mall, whose major tenants include Home Depot, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, AMC Theaters, CompUSA, […]