Sponsored by Credit Suisse

UBS boss Oswald Gruebel is targeting an annual pretax profit of 15 billion Swiss francs ($14.9 billion) as he aims to put the subprime crisis and a U.S. tax row behind the loss-making bank and win back clients.

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.

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.

The dollar edged lower on Thursday, struggling with growing calls for Asian currencies to trade more freely -- effectively appreciate -- but supported by profit-taking on recent gains in other currencies like the euro.

Gold rose above $1,120 an ounce to a fresh record high on Thursday, the U.S. dollar hovered near 15-month lows while shares weakened, particularly in emerging markets. Gold prices pushed to the record high in part because of dollar weakness.

Authorities in Britain and Australia have requested information from UBS after the Swiss bank agreed in August to disclose some 4,450 client names to settle a U.S. tax case, the bank confirmed on Sunday.

News, details on corporate bond issues in the European markets on Thursday:

Kraft faces a tougher task winning over Cadbury shareholders in its bid battle after disappointing results late Tuesday cut analyst estimates of what it could afford to pay for Cadbury.

Swiss bank UBS does not expect to win back assets from rich clients any time soon as it struggles to rebuild its reputation after a bitter U.S. tax row even as its underlying performance improves.

A deal between Royal Bank of Scotland, EU regulators and the UK government could include unplanned disposals, the bank said for the first time on Monday, ahead of a radical shake-up of the UK banking sector.

News, details on bond issues in the European markets on Monday:

- Move over Switzerland. The tiny state of Delaware beats the Alpine country in a contest for the most secretive financial jurisdiction, a tax justice rights group said on Saturday.

- Move over Switzerland. The tiny state of Delaware beats the Alpine country in a contest for the most secretive financial jurisdiction, a tax justice rights group said on Saturday.

Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX), Banco Santander Brasil (SANB11.SA) and government-owned Caixa Economica Federal are raising nearly 2.9 billion reais ($1.7 billion) through a structured fund to finance corporate loans in Brazil, Valor Economico newspaper reported on Friday.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc and PepsiAmericas Inc sold fewer soft drinks in the United States than analysts anticipated, signaling that consumers remain cautious about spending and pushing shares of both bottlers down.

The dollar slipped against the euro on Tuesday, pausing from the previous day's broad gains as the yield on 10-year U.S. government bonds retreated from a two-month high, removing some support for the U.S. currency.

Anonymous trading venues known as dark pools are a technological evolution that have benefitted both institutional and retail trading by bringing down transaction costs, Goldman Sachs Group Inc said in a memo to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Credit Suisse Group AG said it was upbeat about its prospects after exceeding third-quarter net profit forecasts by a wide margin thanks to a solid investment banking performance and good client inflows.

Bumper payouts to bankers should be seen as part of a longer term investment in London's economy, the vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International told a debate on ethics at St Paul's Cathedral on Tuesday.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer on Tuesday jumped in to the debate over anonymous trading venues known as dark pools, calling for tough new regulations a day before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission meets to consider new rules.

Credit Suisse said on Tuesday it would make executives wait three-to-four years for their bonuses, as governments press banks to use compensation packages to limit excessive risk taking.

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding has filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse in the U.S. after two former directors at the bank, later charged with fraud, sold the company $545 million in risky securities.

Apple shares continued to trade higher Tuesday morning after the company reported a 47 percent jump in quarterly profits, driven by better-than-expected sales of iPhones, Mac computers and iPods.

Qatar is selling 379.2 million shares in British bank Barclays , worth over 1.3 billion pounds ($2.1 billion), the second major Middle East investor set to make a big profit by selling down its stake this year.

Volkswagen AG set out plans to raise as much as 10 billion euros ($14.9 billion) from shareholders, which analysts said would be enough to make fresh acquisitions as well as merge with Porsche.

Expected strong quarterly earnings at Credit Suisse and a return to profit at Morgan Stanley will set the pace for the global wealth management sector as consolidation among private banks heats up.

The dollar remained near a 14-month low against the euro on Monday as investors bet the Federal Reserve will hold U.S. interest rates near zero well into next year. The euro traded within half a cent of $1.50, a level not seen since August 2008, though analysts said investors would be on alert for any comments about excessive euro strength from a euro zone finance ministers' meeting later in the day.

News, details on bond issues in the European markets on Monday:

Capital One Financial Corp's U.S. credit-card defaults rose in September as more Americans lost their jobs, in another sign that consumers remain under stress.