BUSINESS

Japan's Olympus Corp is expected to unveil a new board of directors as early as Monday, part of efforts to recover from a $1.7 billion accounting fraud, but the new line-up is likely to disappoint the firm's major overseas investors.

Starved of credit, and facing a lack of deals and a new bout of indignation over executive pay, the private equity sector has one solace: returns continue to be better than those in stock markets.

HSBC Holdings is expected to report the West's biggest banking profit for last year, fuelled by the East, while its rivals are struggling with faltering European and U.S. growth.

Brian Roach scrawled a simple outlook for corn prices in a spiral notebook, with a line diving from the upper left hand corner to the lower right.

Germany is easing its opposition to a bigger European bailout fund, officials said, smoothing the way for the world's leading economies to secure nearly $2 trillion in firepower to prevent further fallout from the euro-zone's sovereign debt crisis.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Saturday policymakers are closely watching the impact of looser monetary policy on oil prices.

The world's major emerging economies on Saturday rejected the tradition that an American automatically is selected to head the World Bank and they will look at putting forward their own candidate for the open job.

MEXICO CITY, Reuters (Feb 25) - The United States did not openly call for a release of countries' strategic oil reserves during Group of 20 meetings this weekend, Group of 20 sources said on Saturday.

As Kingfisher Airlines careens toward collapse, the Indian government finds itself between a rock and a hard place.

A meeting of BRICS major emerging countries discussed the selection process of the next head of the World Bank and emphasized it should be open to all countries, rejecting the tradition that the job automatically goes to an American, a senior BRIC official said on Saturday.

Germany may not be ready to back an increase in the euro zone's bailout fund at a summit next week, delaying progress towards building up nearly $2 trillion in firepower to tackle fallout from Europe's sovereign debt crisis.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a probe into the ties between stock exchanges and certain electronic trading firms, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

A planned U.S. ban on banks trading for their own profit could hamper monetary policy and the ability of financial firms to manage risk unless foreign government debt is exempted, a top Citigroup executive said on Saturday.

Warren Buffett told investors on Saturday the Berkshire Hathaway board has identified his successor, easing some shareholder concern about the future of the company once the famed 81-year-old investor steps down as chief executive.

Greece formally launched a bond swap offer to private holders of its bonds on Friday, setting in motion the largest-ever sovereign debt restructuring in the hope of getting its messy finances back on track.

World economic powers told Europe on Friday it would have to do more to fight its financial crisis before they agree to provide back-up in the form of a bigger IMF war-chest.

A rally on Wall Street will be put to the test next week, with the S&P 500 at its highest level since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

A solid U.S. candidate to head the World Bank would be good for the United States and the bank because the world's largest economy should be represented in top international bodies, outgoing President Robert Zoellick said on Saturday, while emphasizing he has no role in the selection process.

The first wounded and sick women trapped in the most embattled district of the Syrian city of Homs have been evacuated, and talks were held to evacuate more on Saturday, while pressure mounted on President Bashar al-Assad's government to call a ceasefire and let in humanitarian aid.

Bank of America Corp appears to be going it alone in not selling mortgage loans to Fannie Mae, a move that, while sending an angry signal to the nation's largest mortgage-buyer, could force the bank to charge less attractive mortgage rates.

The European Central Bank's decision to exempt itself from taking losses on its Greek bonds gives its senior status in the bond market and may push up borrowing costs of other debt-strained euro zone countries, Standard & Poor's said on Friday.

Goldman Sachs Group has suspended coverage of 18 discount brokers, exchanges and small investment banks because the analyst who follows them has left the firm.

Activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP nominated a slate of five candidates to AOL Inc's board, saying discussions with the company in the past two months were unsatisfying.

U.S. regulators should scrap a proposal on the Volcker rule that curbs banks' speculative bets, and work on a fresh one that does not threaten the health of markets, a member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday.

The S&P 500 rose on Friday to close at the highest level since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, continuing a pattern of steady gains on signs of U.S. economic recovery.

Federal appeals judges on Friday honed in on whether a U.S. Supreme Court ruling limiting securities fraud lawsuits barred a $2 billion case by hedge funds accusing German automaker Porsche SE of fraudulently cornering the market in Volkswagen AG shares in 2008.

Activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP nominated a slate of five candidates to AOL Inc's board, saying discussions with the company in the past two months had not yielded desired results.

International bankers called on Group of 20 finance leaders on Friday to step up their efforts to promote economic growth, warning that spillover risks from the euro zone remain.

The S&P 500 was little changed on Friday but on track to finish at four-year highs after upbeat reports on housing and consumer sentiment.