business - "market"

BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers says a combined BHP and Rio Tinto will have only a modest share of the global iron ore market and will not pose a threat to steelmakers and other commodities customers.

If you don't know much about stocks, now is a great time to educate yourself. Valuations are more attractive than they've been in a long time, and investing now will likely pay off down the line, when markets head back up.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Johnson & Johnson Inc. unit Centocor said late Tuesday that three Phase III studies of its treatment golimumab showed the compound significantly improved the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as well as the physical function and disease activity of patients. Centocor said it plans to submit an application with the Food and Drug Adminstration for the compound by the end of the second quarter.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

In markets hit hardest by falling home prices and rising foreclosures, borrowers with good credit buy a new home -- often at a much lower price -- then bail out of the 'upside down' mortgage on their first home. But walking away from a mortgage has plenty of drawbacks and Fannie plans to toughen rules.

BNP Paribas, the French bank, is set to take advantage of the turmoil in the financial markets by buying Bank of America's equity prime brokerage business

STATEN ISLAND, NY (MARKET WIRE) VSB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSBN) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share payable on July 1, 2008 to stockholders of record on June 20, 2008. Joseph J. LiBassi, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated, 'This is our third cash dividend to date. Our current capital levels and continued profitability are key factors used in determining the payment of this dividend.'

Concerns over inflation and economic growth crippled housebuilders and led banks lower on Tuesday, leaving London equity markets nursing further losses

The rest of the world feels our pain as American consumers' anxiety and angst pulses through the world economy and curtails growth in global personal consumption, according to Joseph Quinlan, chief market strategist for Bank of America's investment strategies group. (BAC)

Oasis Outsourcing has opened a St. Louis office and named Debra Cotten district manager for the St. Louis market, the Florida-based staffing firm announced Tuesday.

The dollar gained ground on world currency markets Tuesday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned about inflationary risks, causing traders to raise the odds of potential US interest rate hikes.