BUSINESS

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde led a global push on Saturday for the euro zone to boost its financial firewall, saying if it is big enough it will not get used.

Budding bankers expecting the bumper bonuses of years gone by will have to think again, with only the top performers likely to be paid top dollar.

Royal Bank of Scotland's Chairman Philip Hampton will not pick up a 1.4 million pound ($2.2 million) stock bonus, the bailed-out bank said, following public anger and political squabbling over a 1 million pound bonus for its chief executive.

The break-up of Switzerland's oldest bank Wegelin on Friday shows the need to settle a dispute with U.S. authorities over tax cheats hiding cash in secret Swiss accounts, the finance minister said on Saturday.

Greece and its private creditors head back to the negotiating table on Saturday to put together the final pieces of a long-awaited debt swap agreement needed to avert an unruly default.

Germany is pushing for Greece to relinquish control over its budget policy to European institutions as part of discussions over a second rescue package, a European source told Reuters on Friday.

Germany is pushing for Greece to relinquish control over its budget policy to European institutions as part of discussions over a second rescue package, a European source told Reuters on Friday.

Long nicknamed the Finger Building, the condo building has been reviled by local residents. But now, it has sold, with 70 percent of its 41 apartments in contract after a few months of marketing.

The chosen sportswomen are a part of the brand's first global marketing campaign, meant to support the Olympic Games.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is in serious talks to poach veteran Bloomberg LP executive Lex Fenwick to run its Dow Jones publishing business, which houses the Wall Street Journal, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

In his final act before departing the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the agency's inspector general, David Kotz, criticized how the agency analyzes the economic impact of some of its Dodd-Frank rules.

Fitch downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain on Friday, indicating there was a 1-in-2 chance of further cuts in the next two years.

Hotel companies and real estate firms are optimistic that deal transactions will pick up this year despite concerns about Europe's economy and challenges in obtaining debt financing.

The names of a Goldman Sachs board member and a top executive of Berkshire Hathaway surfaced on Friday as potential witnesses in the insider trading trial of Rajat Gupta, a former director of Goldman, Procter & Gamble and other companies.

Former Groupon Inc sales representatives sued by that company after leaving for Google Inc have filed a countersuit, claiming their former employer is pursuing sham litigation to keep them from joining rivals.

It has only been a few days since the Federal Reserve adopted a formal goal for inflation, and already policymakers are missing their target.

Greece expects to clinch a long-awaited bond swap deal within days, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told Reuters Friday, promising the country would avoid an unruly default feared by financial markets worldwide.

Even as President Barack Obama is calling for more assistance for struggling mortgage borrowers, major banks are looking forward to spending less to handle problem home loans.

NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer sees a 10 percent to 20 percent chance that his $9 billion merger with Deutsche Boerse will be approved, but the low odds do not mean he is giving up hope yet.

Stocks trimmed losses to end little changed on Friday, as investors saw dips in the market as an opportunity to buy into what has been a strong first month of 2012.

UBS Americas Wealth Management said on Friday it hired at least 14 veteran Merrill Lynch brokers who in total managed more than $2 billion in client assets at Merrill.

Michael Roseman, the former chief risk officer who is said to have raised red flags about aggressive trading bets at MF Global , will testify before Congress next week, according to a congressional staffer familiar with the matter.

Facebook plans to file documents as early as Wednesday for a highly anticipated IPO that will value the world's largest social network at between $75 billion and $100 billion, the Wall Street Journal cited unidentified sources as saying on Friday.

The Dow was on track to post the first weekly loss this year on Friday as lackluster earnings from blue-chip companies and weaker-than-expected data on U.S. economic growth disappointed investors.

Greece expects to conclude difficult debt talks with private creditors within days and negotiations with the EU and the IMF on a new bailout deal by the middle of next week, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told Reuters on Friday.

Greece expects to conclude difficult debt talks with private creditors within days and negotiations with the EU and the IMF on a new bailout deal by the middle of next week, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told Reuters on Friday.

The European Union and IMF want Greece to push through more budget cuts and implement a series of long-agreed austerity reforms before they sign off on a new bailout the country needs to avert bankruptcy, a report obtained by Reuters shows.

The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years in the fourth quarter, but a rebuilding of stocks by businesses and slower business spending warned of weaker growth in early 2012.

Eastman Chemical is buying Solutia Inc , chemicals provider for products from iPads to tires, for about $3.4 billion in cash and stock in a bid to drive its sluggish growth and focus on emerging markets, particularly the Asia-Pacific region.