US weekly unemployment aid applications decline

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits dropped last week, the latest evidence that the job market is strengthening.
The Labor Department says weekly unemployment benefit applications fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 359,000. That’s the smallest number of applicants since April 2008. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, declined to 365,000.
The department also […]

Military families face financial hurdles

Unemployment, debt and a troubled housing market are plaguing families across the country, but for those in the armed forces, there is an even bigger burden to bear.
Often young and required to move frequently, many military families struggle to maintain a two-income household, find affordable childcare and save for the future.

Service members […]

Cisco goes after Apple TV with $5 billion NDS deal

Cisco Systems is riding the wave of connected televisions with a splashy $5 billion acquisition deal for NDS Group, a privately held British TV software company.
NDS makes software for about 90 cable and satellite companies around the world, enabling content to be delivered to set-top boxes and DVRs as well as mobile devices. That […]

Iran Central Bank Says Rial Can Be Traded at Market Rates - Bloomberg

Iran

Asia stocks mixed amid doubts about China growth

Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday, hindered by falling commodity prices and worries about the extent of China’s economic slowdown.
Benchmark oil remained below $106 per barrel while the dollar rose against the yen but slipped against the euro.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose for a third straight day, basking in the ongoing retreat of the yen […]

US brings new trade case against China

The Obama administration is bringing a new trade case against China that seeks to pressure Beijing to end export restrictions on key materials used to manufacture hybrid car batteries, flat-screen televisions and other high-tech goods.
The latest action, announced Tuesday, is part of President Barack Obama’s broader effort to crack down on what his administration sees […]

China Hard-Landing Concerns

Concerns that China will enter a so- called hard landing are

Peres: Social media helps with peace process

Israeli President Shimon Peres on Tuesday visited Facebook’s California headquarters, where he blasted the Iranian government and said the social networking site is a way for people to bypass failed efforts of governments to seek peace.
The 88-year-old leader was scheduled to meet with the company’s chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg, and launch his official personal […]

Judge clears way for Alabama county’s bankruptcy

Alabama’s Jefferson County can go ahead with its $4.23 billion bankruptcy case, the biggest ever by an American municipality, a federal judge ruled.
Overcoming arguments by creditors that the county was ineligible for bankruptcy because it had the wrong type of debt, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett issued a ruling late Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama, […]

BOJ Openings Can Shape Monetary Policy - Bloomberg

Japan