Shares of U.S. financial companies open broadly higher, boosted by Ameriprise Financial Inc. and a premarket government report that said jobless claims declined last week.

Benchmark financial assets are little changed from yesterday, with global stock and oil prices continuing to hint at possible double tops emerging at June’s highs while the US Dollar clings to support eyeing a recovery.

Nicholas Financial Inc., a consumer finance company, reported a 58 percent increase in fiscal first-quarter profits Thursday on a healthy jump in sales.

Shinhan Financial Group Co. , South Korea’s largest financial company by market value, said second- quarter profit advanced 34 percent as the nation’s economy recovered and provisions for bad debts declined.

U.S. financial stocks fall, pressured by the latest round of U.S. economic data reports, but buoyed by gains of realty giant CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.

Over the past week, Financial News has published a series of high-profile Q&As with financial services professionals. The topics up for discussion have ranged from investment opportunities in China to the state of the private equity industry in Europe.

Thursday is Microsoft's annual Financial Analyst Meeting, during which the company feeds and woos hundreds of, well, financial analysts so they know what's on tap during the next year.

São Paulo - O jornal britânico Financial Times, um dos mais influentes no mundo da economia e dos negócios, trouxe na edição desta quarta-feira uma reportagem analítica sobre o crescimento brasileiro. O texto afirma que o País precisa estar atento aos fatores que podem atrapalhar o seu progresso.