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U.S. stocks were set to open higher on Monday after influential bank analyst Meredith Whitney upgraded Goldman Sachs Group shares and gave bullish comments on financial stocks, sparking hopes corporate quarterly results may be surprisingly strong.

Bank of America Corp is trying to avoid paying billions of dollars in fees to U.S. taxpayers for guarantees against losses at Merrill Lynch, saying the rescue agreement was never signed and the funding never used, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The biggest U.S. banks, including Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp., JP Morgan Chase and Citibank announced plans to stop exchanging the registered warrants for cash after Friday.

Citigroup announced on Thursday its biggest management shake-up since the financial crisis began, replacing its chief financial officer and installing a new banking chief as it prepares to give the government a 34 percent equity stake.

The International Monetary Fund said signs in the economy indicate that recession is easing but the recovery will be slow and likely to take some time. The IMF said the global economy is likely to contract 1.4 percent this year.

Malaysian telecom firm Axiata has expressed interest to buy the Sri Lankan and Cambodian assets of Luxembourg-based telecom operator Millicom worth at least $500 million, sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

California IOU recipients can turn to credit unions and check-cashing storefronts if a state budget deal does not appear by Friday and if three major banks refuse to accepting the notes beyond Friday as planned, analysts said on Tuesday.

Soaring U.S. unemployment and a shrinking economy drove delinquencies on credit card debt and home equity loans to all-time highs in the first quarter as a record number of cash-strapped consumers fell behind on their bills.

Bank of America Corp has promoted two senior mergers and acquisitions bankers as it reorganizes following its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co and looks to benefit from a possible pickup in deal flow.

Some of the top stories making the first half of this day.

Daily outlook for July 1 - finance

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Bank of America Corp's primary investment management unit is drawing lower than expected bids after its likeliest suitor, BlackRock Inc , inked a blockbuster deal to buy Barclays Global Investor , the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the matter.

Consumer and labor groups demanded Bank of America Corp and other lenders reform their sales practices so that workers under pressure to meet sales quotas do not saddle customers with costly and unnecessary products.

U.S. commercial banks reported record trading revenue in the first quarter of 2009, benefiting from wide trading margins and gains from interest rate products, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said on Friday.

Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America's embattled chief executive, retained the backing of a top lieutenant on Friday, when investment bank and wealth management chief Brian Moynihan called him the right person to lead the nation's largest bank.

Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America's embattled chief executive, retained the backing of a top lieutenant on Friday, when investment bank and wealth management chief Brian Moynihan called him the right person to lead the nation's largest bank.

Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) plunged by more than half in the second quarter to $402 billion, but the green shoots of economic recovery may soon kick-start fee revenue from an eleven-year low.

Stocks rallied on Thursday as investors were relieved Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke withstood a barrage of pointed questions from Congress on the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch deal relatively unscathed.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, facing his toughest grilling yet by U.S. lawmakers, said on Thursday he had never threatened to fire Bank of America's management if they pulled the plug on a planned merger with Merrill Lynch.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, facing one of his toughest grillings yet by U.S. lawmakers on Thursday, denied he had ever threatened to fire Bank of America management if they pulled the plug on a planned merger with Merrill Lynch.

Bank of America Corp was sued on Thursday in a federal lawsuit in New York, accusing the largest U.S. bank of discriminating against female brokers at the former Merrill Lynch & Co by offering them lower retention bonuses than their male counterparts.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday pushed back hard against accusations the Fed threatened Bank of America executives if they halted a merger with Merrill Lynch or pressured them to withhold bad news about the troubled investment bank.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday again denied threatening Bank of America executives if they halted a merger with Merrill Lynch or pressuring them to withhold bad news about Merrill.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Thursday ahead of key data on jobless claims and economic growth.

The Federal Reserve sought to hide its involvement in Bank of America Corp's acquisition of Merrill Lynch as Merrill's financial condition worsened, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said on Wednesday.

Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke is expected to testify on Thursday about allegations made by Bank of America CEO that the government put pressure on him to go forward with the Merril Lynch acquisition.

Three of China's “big four” banks ranked in the top five in terms of profits among all banks around the world last year, the UK magazine The Banker released on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve sought to hide its involvement in Bank of America Corp's acquisition of Merrill Lynch as Merrill's financial condition worsened, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said on Wednesday.