Sponsored by Credit Suisse

Global financial firms, emerging from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, are looking to shed India back office operations as they focus on core operations and cost cuts.

Any change at the top of UBS's U.S. wealth management business could signal the Swiss bank is trying to rehabilitate its America franchise after a bruising tax row, ready for an eventual sale.

Britain's Lloyds Banking Group said it was still assessing ways to exit or reduce its participation in a state scheme to insure its toxic assets, after reports it plans to raise 25 billion pounds.

Julius Baer will buy ING's Swiss private banking assets for 520 million Swiss francs ($507 million), the European wealth management industry's biggest deal since the crisis began.

Julius Baer , bulking up in its home market, has won the auction to buy the Swiss private banking assets of Dutch financial services group ING for around $500 million, two sources with knowledge of the deal said.

Japan's government put pressure on the central bank on Tuesday to avoid ending its emergency funding for companies too soon, with the finance minister saying the economy had yet to regain balance.

China Real Estate Information Corp, a provider of real estate information and consulting services, is planning to raise up to $248 million in a U.S.-listed initial public offering set for Oct 16.

Switzerland's two large banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, could weather a severe deterioration of the economy, Swiss banking regulator FINMA said on Friday, publishing its conclusion from a stress test for the banks.

The London Stock Exchange said it has entered into exclusive talks with low-cost trading platform Turquoise Trading Ltd., as rising competition forces trading houses to consolidate.

UBS AG's U.S. wealth management unit Paine Webber is not a core part of the bank's operations but will not be sold at present, UBS Chief Executive Oswald Gruebel was quoted saying in the FT.

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday ahead of key data expected to show a small gain in new orders for durable goods.

Swiss bank UBS AG, which suffered massive client withdrawals after a high-profile U.S. tax fraud probe, has cut around 200 jobs at its U.S. wealth management arm, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Forget the shows, buffets, show girls and cigar bars. As it prepares for a $1.6 billion initial public offering for its casino operations in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau, U.S. gaming giant Wynn Resorts has figured out what Asian punters want and is giving them plenty of it: Good old-fashioned gambling.

Swiss bank UBS AG, which suffered massive client withdrawals after a high-profile U.S. tax fraud probe, has cut around 200 jobs at its U.S. wealth management arm, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Credit Suisse downgraded Dell Inc to neutral raising concerns over the company's acquisition strategy, and recommended investors take profits from Dell stock but add positions in Hewlett-Packard Co, Apple Inc and EMC Corp.

Lennar Corp reported a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss as the No. 3 U.S. homebuilder wrote down the value of land and generated less revenue than Wall Street had forecast, sending its shares down more than 6 percent.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday as a brokerage upgrade of Procter & Gamble lifted shares of consumer staples companies, putting the market on track for a second week of gains.

Macquarie Group Ltd, the Australian investment bank best known for privatizing public roads and airports, is making a big investment in Wall Street.

Ford Motor Co sees no near-term North American labor cost disadvantage with rivals General Motors Co and Chrysler Group LLC, but is in talks with its unions to address longer-term concerns, its global labor chief said on Thursday.

American International Group Inc is interviewing banks this week on managing a planned initial public offering of a life insurance unit, American Life Insurance Co, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Credit Suisse downgraded American International Group Inc to underperform from neutral, saying near-term sale of businesses would leave little to no value for common equity holders.

The U.S. manufacturing sector's return to expansion should be music to equity investors' ears, but bankers say past experience as well as the circumstances of the current rebound suggest a good deal of caution is warranted.

Credit Suisse's Private Banking head Walter Berchtold said the bank is on the look out for acquisitions, but would not comment on whether this included a bid for private banking assets of ING .

The U.S. manufacturing sector grew in August for the first time in over a year and a half, while pending home sales surged to a two-year high in July, adding to mounting evidence the longest economic slowdown since the Great Depression is ending.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday for the last session of the month, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.78 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.77 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.87 percent at 0825 GMT (4:25 a.m. EDT).

Executives at Swiss banks Julius Baer and Credit Suisse expect to avoid a U.S. tax investigation into their private banking businesses on the same scale as their peer UBS , they told The Financial Times on Sunday.

Two real estate investment trusts filed for initial public offerings on Friday, bringing to eight the number of applications since early July by REITs created by real estate companies seeking to take advantage of the distressed commercial property market.

While the cash-for-clunkers auto rebate program gave the U.S. economy a strong boost, the end of the recession remains uncertain, the head of chemical maker Huntsman Corp (HUN.N) said on Wednesday.

Hedge funds and bank trading desks are hiring again after the downturn and have already snapped up some of the most talented managers dislodged while firms struggled in the credit crisis, industry insiders said.