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U.S. chocolate maker Hershey Co is considering launching a bid of at least $17 billion for British chocolatier Cadbury Plc in an effort to outstrip a hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Chip stocks fell on Thursday after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the sector on a possible inventory correction, although two of Europe's top chipmakers were upbeat about recovery prospects.

Semiconductor stocks fell sharply after BofA Merrill Lynch turned bearish on the industry and downgraded several chipmakers, including Intel Corp , citing a modest rise in inventories.

Investors shifted out of bonds into equities and commodities in November as confidence in the global economic recovery underpinned their risk appetite, a survey showed on Wednesday.

John Thain, former Merrill Lynch & Co Inc chief executive, wants the world to know that he has never thrown a chair.

A congressional panel accused Bank of America Corp on Tuesday of knowing about Merrill Lynch's huge losses as early as November 2008, suggesting the bank misled investors in saying it did not grasp the depth of the problems until the following month.

Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil company, would only seek mergers and acquisitions that add scale and fit strategically with the rest of the company, its chief financial officer said on Tuesday.

Chinese and U.S. regulators are negotiating a pact aimed at encouraging Chinese financial institutions to buy into small and medium-sized banks in the United States, bankers briefed on the plan said on Tuesday.

New York Stock Exchange member firms earned a record $35.7 billion for their broker-dealer operations in the first six months of this year, which is 1-1/2 times above the previous high-water mark set in 2000, the state comptroller said in a report on Tuesday.

GMAC Chief Executive Al de Molina has resigned, and will be replaced by Michael Carpenter, the troubled lender said on Monday.

Chinese and U.S. regulators are negotiating a pact aimed at encouraging Chinese financial institutions to buy into small and medium-sized banks in the United States, bankers briefed on the plan said on Tuesday.

Former Bank of America Corp general counsel Timothy Mayopoulos was stunned to be fired as the bank was trying to wrap up its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co, after being promised the same job at the combined company.

Former Bank of America Corp general counsel Timothy Mayopoulos said he was stunned to be fired as the bank was trying to wrap up its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co, after being promised the same job at the combined company.

Former Bank of America Corp general counsel Timothy Mayopoulos said he was stunned to be fired as the bank was trying to wrap up its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co, after being told he would become the combined company's new general counsel.

U.S. credit card companies said defaults fell more than expected in October, but delinquencies mostly rose in a sign that consumers remain under stress and the sector can expect more pain ahead.

J.P. Morgan is close to buying out British stockbroker Cazenove in a deal likely to be worth almost 1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) and trigger windfalls for dozens of London's top dealmakers.

Capital One Financial Corp and Discover Financial Services reported credit card defaults fell in October, but delinquencies rose in a sign that consumers remain under stress and the sector can expect more pain ahead.

It is hard to believe that Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, with his state facing its own woes, would be hanging around Wall Street looking for a fight.

Sparring Over Exchange Rates; Exxon's Poise; Sony's Dark Forecast

Bank of America Corp's search for a new chief executive has been hurt by federal pay limits that played a major role in the senior vice chairman of PNC Financial Services Group Inc spurning feelers from the company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

The United States needs a credible way to dismantle large troubled financial institutions to squash a belief that some firms will always be rescued, a top U.S. government watchdog said on Friday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon called the idea that any bank is too big to fail ethically bankrupt and said regulators should have the power to wind down even the largest lenders.

JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon called the idea that any bank is too big to fail ethically bankrupt and said regulators should have the power to wind down even the largest lenders.

BofA Blues for Top Job; Dodd Seeks Teeth for Reforms; Cautious on Recovery

It is the most prestigious job that nobody wants. Bank of America is searching for a new chief executive, and by all accounts, it is having a tough time finding someone for the job.

Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were found not guilty of fraud, a decision that could make government prosecutors less likely to bring criminal charges against Wall Street executives for their role in the financial crisis.

U.S. Bancorp , the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets, is looking to expand its credit card business and is actively marketing its cards nationally, Chief Executive Richard Davis said at a conference on Tuesday.

About 20 percent of struggling U.S. homeowners eligible for loan workouts have entered into a trial modification, but it is unclear how many of them will be able to keep the lower payments permanently, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday.

Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Officer Ken Lewis said on Tuesday that he expected history to show he was right when it came to controversial steps such as buying struggling brokerage Merrill Lynch & Co.