Hot finance topics

Italy auctioned 7 billion euros ($9 billion) of debt to bring the total raised this week to almost 20 billion euros, underscoring how the European Central Bank is helping the world

U.S. stocks surged Tuesday as concerns about the European debt crisis eased and investors welcomed signs of strength in the U.S. housing market.
The Dow Jones industrial average () rose 337 points, or 2.9%, to end at 12,103. The S&P 500 () jumped 36 points, or 3%, to 1,241. The Nasdaq () gained 80 […]

The United States will hold talks with North Korea in Beijing Thursday on the possibility of providing food aid to the impoverished country, the State Department said.
The Obama administration has been deliberating on the issue for months. The United Nations and U.S. charities say aid is badly needed, but it remains a controversial issue. North […]

The chief executive of St. Louis University Hospital says that his health system is seeking the assistance of a third-party mediator to break an impasse in contract talks with a national health insurer.
SLU Hospital Chief Executive Phillip Sowa said the hospital’s parent company, Tenet HealthCare Corp. of Dallas, faxed a letter Friday to Anthem Blue Cross and […]

Citigroup says it is cutting 4,500 jobs over the next few quarters.
CEO Vikram Pandit said the job cuts are part of the New York bank’s efforts to reduce costs. Pandit made the remarks Tuesday at a financial services conference hosted by Goldman Sachs & Co.
Citigroup Inc.’s fourth-quarter results will include $400 million in expenses related […]

Under pressure to deliver shock treatment to the ailing euro, European finance ministers failed to come up with a plan for European countries to spend within their means. Such a plan is needed before Europe’s central bank and the International Monetary Fund consider stepping in to stem an escalating threat to the global economy.
The ministers […]

Livestock farmers are demanding a change in the nation’s ethanol policy, claiming current rules could lead to spikes in meat prices and even shortages at supermarkets if corn growers have a bad year.
The amount of corn consumed by the ethanol industry combined with continued demand from overseas has cattle and hog farmers worried that if […]

The European economy has stalled, and is likely to start shrinking soon, just when eurozone countries need help the most.
Growth slowed nearly to a stop this summer, and a recession afflicting small countries like Greece and Portugal threatens to spread to some of Europe’s stronger economies as financial market uncertainty erodes confidence among businesses and […]

The second-ranking member of the Federal Reserve said the central bank will conduct a fourth round of stress tests in the coming weeks to determine if U.S. banks can withstand a recession.
Vice Chairman Janet Yellen said Friday that the tests are necessary because of the increased downside risks that Europe’s debt crisis poses to the […]

Centrue Financial Corp., the holding company for Centrue Bank, reported a net loss of $4.7 million in the third quarter, or 87 cents a share, compared to a net loss of $16.4 million, or $2.79 a share, a year earlier.
The bank’s nonperforming loans declined 49.5 percent to $3.9 million in the third quarter that ended […]