 | | | | Gold prices rose and a gauge of global equity markets hit an all-time high on Thursday in light holiday trade as a year-end rally on Wall Street advanced further on optimism over a U.S.-China trade agreement. | | | | | | U.S. shoppers spent more online during this year's holiday shopping season, a report by Mastercard Inc showed on Wednesday, with e-commerce sales hitting a record high. | | | | | | The Nasdaq topped the 9,000-point mark for the first time on Thursday and the S&P 500 hit a record high, boosted by optimism over U.S.-China trade relations and gains in shares of Amazon.com after a report signaled robust online holiday sales. | | | | | | Oil prices rose about 1% to the highest in more than three months on Thursday, buoyed by hopes of an end to the China-U.S. trade fight and by a report showing lower U.S. crude inventories. | | | | | | Peru´s labor watchdog has found McDonalds Corp´s Latin America franchisee Arcos Dorados guilty of six "very serious" violations of local safety and health laws following the deaths of two employees in a restaurant kitchen. | | | | | | Tiffany & Co , which is being bought by Louis Vuitton owner LVMH , on Thursday estimated sales growth of 1% to 3% during the holidays, with the biggest contribution coming from China and a recovery in the Americas. | | | | | | Despite a strong start to this decade in 2010, emerging market stocks underperformed developed market peers and were weighed down by events such as the Chinese market sell-off, debt crises in Turkey and Argentina and the Sino-U.S. trade war. | | | | | | United Parcel Service Inc expects returned packages to hit a record high following this year's holiday shipping season, as consumers shopped more online, the package delivery company said on Thursday. | | | | | | California attorney Michael Avenatti, known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against U.S. President Donald Trump, was more than $15 million in debt when he allegedly tried to extort as much as $25 million from Nike Inc , U.S. prosecutors claimed. | | | | | | China is in close touch with the United States on signing a Phase 1 trade deal, the country's commerce ministry said on Thursday, adding that both sides are still going through necessary procedures before the signing. | | | | | |
