BUSINESS

UBS AG named several executives to senior positions in the United States and Europe, in the latest move by the Swiss bank to rebuild its business after a massive trading scandal and departures by scores of bankers in recent years.

Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb has intensified his firm Third Point's proxy battle with Yahoo Inc, launching a website calling for a management shakeup at the online media company.

U.S. stocks started the second quarter with a bang on Monday, with the S&P 500 climbing to a fresh four-year high as manufacturing data from the United States and China helped support the outlook for economic growth.

The take-home pay of U.S. chief executives grew at least 10 percent in 2011, propelled largely by a stock market rally, according to consultants' estimates.

Stocks ended higher on Monday, starting the second quarter with a bang. The S&P 500 climbed to a fresh four-year closing high as manufacturing data from the United States and China helped support the outlook for economic growth.

Oracle Corp and Google Inc have reached an irreconcilable impasse in settlement negotiations in a high-profile intellectual property lawsuit and the companies' lawyers should prepare for trial, a U.S. magistrate judge ruled on Monday.

Even though nobody outside of Cupertino knows what the iPhone 5 looks like, that hasn't stopped artists from fashioning their own concept designs of Apple's sixth-generation smartphone. The latest Apple iPhone 5 design comes from South Korean product designer Jinyoung Choi, called iPhone PRO.

Stocks extended gains in late afternoon trading on Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite up 1 percent and the S&P 500 at a fresh four-year high as encouraging data from the United States and abroad helped ease concerns about the pace of economic growth.

The S&P 500 climbed to a fresh four-year intraday high on Monday, the first trading day of the second quarter, as upbeat Chinese and U.S. manufacturing data overshadowed a report showing more weakness in Europe.

Stocks were little changed on Monday on the first trading day of the second quarter as data showing a modest pickup in U.S. manufacturing offset a report showing a dimmer view of factory activity in Europe.

Construction spending in February recorded its largest drop in seven months as investment in private and government projects fell, which could cause economists to slightly mark down their first-quarter economic growth forecasts.

Unemployment in the euro zone reached its highest level in almost 15 years in February, with more than 17 million people out of work, and economists said they expected job office queues to grow even longer later this year.

Wells Fargo & Co opened its new Abbot Downing business on Monday, merging two of its wealth management units under a new brand it hopes will expand its market share of America's richest families.

Wall Street was set for a flat open on Monday as investors eyed data on manufacturing for signs of improvement in the pace of growth.

Stock index futures were flat on Monday ahead of manufacturing data after a similar report on Europe's manufacturing sector raised concerns about a recession in the region.

Singapore's DBS Group , Southeast Asia's biggest bank, is to buy Indonesia's Bank Danamon for $7.24 billion, in a deal that could stir nationalist opposition stoked by anxious local rivals.

Stock index futures were flat on Monday after weak manufacturing data out of Europe raised fears about a recession in the region.

A private equity arm of Goldman Sachs is looking to launch a $3 billion property debt fund in a bid to take advantage of a growing shortage of real estate financing across the UK and Europe, British newspaper the Times said on Monday.

Barry Callebaut , the world's largest maker of chocolate products, warned that markets in Western Europe and North America remained fragile as it reported a slight dip in first-half profits.

DBS Group Holdings , Southeast Asia's biggest bank, has agreed to pay $7.24 billion for Indonesia's Bank Danamon , offering a 52 percent premium for a middle-ranking lender with high funding costs, raising questions on the price.

Singapore-based Richard Chandler Corp, the largest shareholder in Sino-Forest Corp, said on Monday that it has proposed a restructuring plan for the embattled Chinese forestry company.

For all the derision Republican presidential hopefuls have heaped on the Federal Reserve, a November win by lead contender Mitt Romney would likely change little at the central bank, at least in the short term.

Sean Chua expected the hunt for his first job after college to be tough. After all, he watched his brother struggle to find a position when he graduated back in 2008.

China's big factories were surprisingly busy in March as a stream of new orders lifted activity to an 11-month high, but credit-constrained smaller manufacturers struggled, suggesting that the economy is still losing steam.

After two years of hard work to improve Singapore's largest bank and lift its underperforming Hong Kong unit, DBS Group chief executive Piyush Gupta is embarking on his biggest challenge yet - a bid for Indonesia's Bank Danamon .

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic Corp is expected to shift all production of its mobile phone handsets abroad as early as this summer as it looks to re-enter overseas markets this fiscal year, the Nikkei daily said on Sunday.

South Korean exports in March fell 1.4 percent from a year ago, missing a consensus forecast for a small gain and adding to questions about the strength of a global recovery even with a boost to shipments in the first month of a landmark free trade pact with the United States.

Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Friday to increase their financial firewall to 700 billion euros to ward off a new flare-up of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, drawing a positive initial reaction from G20 partners and markets.

Since its introduction in June 2007, the iPhone has taken the word by storm, but one question dominates the general conversation: When's the next one coming out? Thankfully, fans won't have to wait any later than October to get their hands on Apple's latest iPhone design.