interest rate

The Monetary Policy Committee set the key rate at 0.5% for the 26th month and left its bond-purchase program at 200 billion pounds.

Policy makers are under pressure to curb inflation that has soared to more than twice the central bank's 2% target. Economists expect the ECB will announce its first rate increase since July 2008 later today.

The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low as policy makers focus on the need to aid recovery, according to a Bloomberg report.

The most actively traded gold futures contract, for June delivery, rose $19.50, or 1.4%, to settle at a record $1,452.50 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Thinly traded nearby April gold gaine

Gold futures surged to a record high and silver hit a new 31-year peak Tuesday as investors' desire for safe havens trumped news of a Chinese interest rate increase.

The People's Bank of China, the central bank of the People's Republic of China, raised its benchmark 1-year lending rate by a quarter point to 6.31%, and its rate on one-year bank deposits to 3.25%.

U.S. Equity futures are pointing to a lower open this morning as investors mull over the rebalancing of the Nasdaq-100 index to diminish Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) influence, a rate hike in China and another downgrade of Portugal's deb

Financial shares are mixed as regulators eye several big sector names for possible manipulation of the LIBOR, which is used to set adjustable interest rates on a wide variety of loans. In mid-day news, the Securities and Exchange

MF Global is trading down 0.8% at $8.60.

MF Global Holdings has a potential upside of 3.5% based on a current price of $8.6 and an average consensus analyst price target of $8.9.

The futures and options trader MF Global Holdings (NYSE:MF) headed by former New Jersey governor John Corzine, could rise as much as 25% if its plan to reduce the firm's dependence on futures trading and interest-rate income on cl

The average rate rose to 5.05% from 4.81% last week, according to Freddie Mac, which tracks the market. The rate bottomed out at 4.17% in November.

The 15-year home loan rate rose to 4.29% from 4.08%, well off its low of 3.57% also in November. Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to an average of 3.92% compared with 3.25% last month.

The average cost of a 30-year fixed mortgage moved above 5% this week for the first time since April, raising concerns that interest rates, although still low, have crossed a psychological barrier that may hamper sales in the weak

Gold fell Friday as it looks to be headed toward its third straight weekly loss on speculation that interest rates will rise with an economic recovery.

The deal highlights a trend where regional banks are seeking to bolster their deposit base and extend their reach to become even stronger.

Comerica's Chairman and CEO Ralph Babb Jr.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) has announced it has entered into an agreement to buy regional bank Sterling Bancshares (NYSE:SBIB) for $1.03 billion in a stock-for-stock deal. The transaction values Sterling shares at $9.99 per share - a 30%