In its most prescriptive recommendations to date, the International Monetary Fund urged euro-area policymakers Wednesday to act immediately to stem the relentless spread of the debt crisis across the currency bloc.

Embracing the broad conclusions of the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction panel would signal that the country will make progress on budget issues and thus send a message to investors and corporate managers that now is the time to commit capital and invest in the country, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) reported a second-quarter profit as the banking giant recorded strong revenue growth and benefited from comparison to a tough year-ago period when it took a large hit from soured mortgages.

China's national pension fund said Wednesday that it selected 12 global investment managers in July to manage its assets.

The following is a summary of analysts' forecasts for Vodafone Group plc (VOD) first-quarter results, based on a poll of four analysts conducted by Dow Jones Newswires (figures in million pounds; dividend and target price in pence; according to IFRS).

W.W. Grainger's (NYSE:GWW) profit climbed in the second quarter. Earnings and Revenue The company's EPS fell in line with analyst expectations of $2.63 a share while revenue of $2.25 billion missed estimates of $2.27 billion. The estimates of 13 analysts ranged from profit of $2.57 to profit of

U.S. home building rose in June to the highest level in nearly four years, confirming that the housing market has finally started to boost the struggling economy after a prolonged bust.

BlackRock Inc.'s (BLK) second-quarter profit slid 11% as the money manager's investment advisory revenue decline combined with investment losses.

Northern Trust's second-quarter profit and revenue rose, but came up short of Wall Street expectations.

The world's largest custody bank saw its profit slide 37% as foreign exchange revenue declined and the bank shelled out $212 million to settle a lawsuit.