Osborne to hand Carney more powers || Google tip-off leads to Microsoft EU penalty || BoJ rejects call for monetary easing || Aviva slashes payout after £3bn loss || Icahn muscles in on Dell deal || KPMG at risk of losing vital HSBC audit || Time Warner to spin off magazines || Equities rally sparks gold funds sell-off || Markets: Markets await central bank decisions Read more

Elsewhere on Thursday,

- What happens if people live forever?

- Tracy Alloway gets some MS Paint competition. Or maybe not.

- There is no shortage of gold.  Read more

Asian stocks mixed, Nikkei slightly higher || Brussels to climb down on data privacy rules || BoJ holds policy in final Shirakawa meeting || Time Warner to spin off magazines || S&P raises Portugal outlook || Gavyn Davies on financial risk Read more

ROUND-UP

FT markets round-up: “Global stocks extended gains as sentiment was boosted by the sight of record levels for Wall Street blue-chips, following optimism over the US economy and expectations of continued stimuli from central banks. Away from equities growth-focused assets were less upbeat, however. Copper fell 0.7 per cent at $3.48 a pound and Brent crude traded below $111 a barrel for most of the session. This left so-called commodity currencies muddled relative to the greenback, the Australian dollar rose up 0.1 per cent but its Canadian namesake is off 0.4 per cent, the latter also impacted by a weak Ivey purchasing managers’ survey and after the country’s central bank held interest rates at 1 per cent. Yet, perceived fixed income havens generally struggled as they lost favour to stocks. Prices for Treasuries and Bunds eased back, forcing yields up 4 basis points to 1.93 per cent and 1bp to 1.46 per cent, respectively. The FTSE All-World equity index rose 0.2 per cent to 235.8 as it gained support from mildly firm performances in Europe and the US.” (Financial Times) Read more

Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez dies || Samsung buys stake in Sharp || FBI joins SEC in computer trading probe || Legal and General dividend rise allays investor gloom || Microsoft faces EU fine for breaking pact || North Korea mixes Dennis with menace || Bolshoi star confesses to acid attack || Markets update: Global stocks are on course for a fresh four-year high Read more

Elsewhere on Wednesday,

- Funding-for-Lending’s fatal flaws.

- There is no magic investing policy.

- Chavez unfondly remembered in two charts. Read more

Asian stocks climb || Chavez dies || Osborne anti-bonus cap bid fails || Samsung to take stake in Sharp || Permira cuts fund-raising target || Martin Wolf on the BoJ’s challenges || ECB likely to hold yet again Read more

Dow 14253.77, it’s a record. The DJIA closed up 0.9 per cent, beating its previous all-time high in October 2007 of 14,164.53. The price-weighted index had risen as much as 1.1 per cent to 14,286.37 intraday (Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters).

A retail investor milestone? With its new high, the Dow is now trading at 12.7 times earnings, below 17.1 times in 2007. While few funds directly track the Dow’s performance – $27.5bn compared to the $1.3tn tracing the S&P 500 – the index retains symbolic power for retail investors (Financial Times, Reuters). Record highs for the Dow have led to jumps in stock mutual fund investments in all but one of the last six bull markets – though record highs also usually portended that bull markets were about to finish. The rally’s foundation on easy policy by the Federal Reserve will test that truism (Wall Street Journal). Read more

China is retaining its GDP growth target of 7.5 per cent for 2013 || The Pari Passu Saga continues || Yellen on asset purchases || Talk of a bubble in student loans || The FSA cracks down on payment for access to chief executives || London banks consider suing EU over bonus caps || Heinz chief could be entitled to $56m deal || Profits fall at Glencore and Xstrata || Chavez’s breathing problems worsen || Swiss bank Wegelin to pay US $74m over tax violation || StanChart expected to report record earnings || Anadarko and Videocon eye $4.5bn sale || Alwaleed challenges Forbes over billions || China said to back new sanctions against North Korea || Gas resumes flowing from ENI’s Libya plant || Cyprus has agreed to submit to review || Apple’s market cap fell below $400bn || SEC allowed to pursue Deloitte China subpoena || France eyes tougher merger rules || Australian rates on hold || Semark in line to run UBS dark pool Read more