Goldman Sachs reported on Thursday that it had nearly quadrupled its profits in the third quarter compared with a year ago, driven by a jump in trading revenues and strong returns on its own corporate investments. Meanwhile, Citigroup defied expectations of a third-quarter loss, reporting profits of $101m on the strength of its customer deposits. Goldman's results beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who had anticipated a surge in fixed-income underwriting opportunities, and followed its record performance in the ...

President Barack Obama's Nobel peace surprise was given "primarily for his work on and commitment to nuclear disarmament," according to Agot Valle, a Norwegian politician who served on the award committee. Valle told the Wall Street Journal that the stewards of the prize wanted to "support" Obama's goal, as expressed recently at the United Nations, "of a world without nuclear weapons." It's tough to think of a goal more widely espoused than the dream of an H-bomb-free planet. Ronald ...

Chicago police asked the public for help Tuesday in finding three more people believed connected to last week's videotaped fatal beating of 16-year-old Derrion Albert. "We need the public's help, your help," Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis told reporters. With four teens already arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the killing, "we are continuing to look for three additional people in connection with Derrion's murder," Weis said. Weis said he has asked the U.S. Secret Service to try to ...

A car bomb was found Friday parked outside the home of a state governor in India's troubled northeast, police said. It was later detonated. The explosives, suspected to be gelatin sticks, were fitted with two mobile phone handsets, said L. Kailun, a police superintendent in Manipur state. Bomb detection squads, acting on a tip, found the car in the parking bay of the state governor's home, he told CNN. "It was then taken to an isolated location ...

The United States has suspended Bush-administration plans for a missile defense shield in Poland, a spokeswoman for the Polish Ministry of Defense said Thursday. "This is catastrophic for Poland," said the spokeswoman, who declined to be named in line with ministry policy. A spokeswoman at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, however, said the decision had not been finalized. "At this point, the review (of the decision) is still ongoing," said Jeanne Brigante, the embassy's press attache. "We don't have an ...

Six men, including a police officer, are facing homicide charges in last week's killing of French filmmaker and photographer Christian Poveda in El Salvador, the attorney general's office said. The suspect accused of ordering the slaying, Nelson Lazo Rivera, was already in prison, according to a statement Wednesday from the agency. Officials gave no motive for the slaying and did not say why Lazo Rivera is incarcerated. El Diario de Hoy newspaper said he is in prison for several ...

Renault face an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris later this month to answer charges of potential race-fixing. The allegation surrounds last season's Singapore Formula One Grand Prix when Fernando Alonso won the race, aided by a crash from then team-mate Nelson Piquet Jnr. If found guilty, the team face severe sanctions which could result in them being excluded from the current world championship. A statement from the FIA read: "Representatives of ...

A French filmmaker who recently finished a documentary about a violent street gang in El Salvador was found shot dead in the town of Tonacatepeque, about 10 miles northeast of the capital city of San Salvador, authorities said. Christian Poveda, 52, was shot at least four times in the face, according to local reports. Poveda's documentary, "La Vida Loca," which follows the lives of members of the Mara 18 street gang, had been screened at a handful of film festivals ...

Hengjiang Village is nestled in the lush mountains of China's Hunan province, just a few kilometers from the bustling city of Wugang. It is a simple place, where mopeds carrying families of four zoom up and down dirt roads and villagers drink water from local wells. Their simple, unassuming way of life was shattered when children started getting sick. A few cases turned into hundreds and parents started to worry. So far, 1,354 children in Hunan province have tested positive ...

The wall heading down to the basement in my parents' house is covered with framed photos of friends and family members. Yet hanging right there in the midst of them, next to graduation portraits and vacation snapshots, is a photo of Bobby Kennedy. In that reverential treatment of the Kennedy clan, my parents were far from alone. For million of American Catholics, the election of John Kennedy in 1960 as the first Catholic U.S. President was a personal triumph, ...