Finance news you need to know today

ITALIAN prosecutors are investigating several Google managers as part of a probe into the company’s suspected $360 million tax evasion.

Undated file photo of the Google logo on a mobile phone screen. Cabinet minister Patrick McLoughlin has said he would like to see Google pay more tax in future as Brussels considered demands to investigate the agreement reached by the internet giant with the UK authorities.. Issue date: Friday January 29, 2016. Chancellor George Osborne has insisted the deal is a "major success" but his Cabinet colleague McLoughlin said he would "like to see Google making more payments to the country" and suggested Whitehall's financial watchdog could examine it. The controversial £130 million 10-year deal with HM Revenue and Customs on back taxes could be investigated by the European Commission following complaints from the SNP and Labour. See PA story POLITICS Google. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire

HERE are eight things making news in business and finance around the world today.

1. WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has returned to Congress with a brave face amid a worsening meltdown in global markets and growing scepticism the US central bank can carry out its long-planned pivot to “normal” monetary policy.

2. WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week in a sign of a stable job market despite the slowing global economy hitting stocks and commodities.

3. ALBANY, New York — US federal and state authorities have announced a $US3.2 billion ($A4.51 billion) settlement with Morgan Stanley over bank practices that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, including misrepresentations about the value of mortgage-backed securities.

4. MILAN — Italian prosecutors are investigating at least three managers at Alphabet Inc’s Google as part of a probe into the company’s suspected evasion of taxes worth 227 million euros ($A360 million), investigative sources say.

5. NEW YORK — Shares of Boeing Co have plummeted after a report said the US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the aircraft manufacturer’s accounting.

6. PURCHASE, New York — PepsiCo says revenue for its North American snacks and drinks units rose in the fourth quarter, boosted by pricing.

7. LONDON — English Premier League soccer club Manchester United showed its commercial strength when it raised its core earnings expectations for the year as it posted a 26.6 per cent rise in quarterly revenue.

8. WASHINGTON — International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has been nominated for a second term as the agency’s managing director.