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Swiss lawmakers have passed a tax proposal seen as key to settling a U.S. probe into Swiss banks with hidden offshore accounts.

Facebook Inc will add banks in coming weeks to help underwrite its initial public offering, two sources familiar with its plans said on Friday.

A federal judge rejected Credit Suisse Group Inc's bid to dismiss a lawsuit by National Century Financial Enterprises bondholders that accused the Swiss bank of deceiving them about the health care finance company and missing its vast, roughly $2.9 billion fraud.

Facebook Inc will add banks in coming weeks to help underwrite its initial public offering, two sources familiar with its plans said on Friday.

Facebook Inc will add more banks in coming weeks to help underwrite the company's initial public offering, two sources familiar with its plans said on Friday.

New bonds that Greece will issue this month as part of its debt restructuring are likely to be the highest yielding in the euro zone as creditors price in a high risk of being forced to take yet more losses.

Spot gold rose more than 1 percent Thursday, recovering from its biggest fall in more than three years in the previous session when U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke failed to signal further monetary easing.

Swiss lawmakers threw their support behind a tax proposal which could help to strike a deal with the United States on Wednesday, a move which is seen as instrumental to settling a U.S. probe into Swiss banks with hidden offshore accounts.

PSA Peugeot Citroen has agreed to form an alliance with General Motors targeting $2 billion in savings, sources with knowledge of the discussions said on Wednesday.

French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen's alliance talks with General Motors may yet fail as the U.S. automaker hesitates over criticism from investors, a source with knowledge of the discussions said.

General Motors Co. will take up to a 7 percent stake in France's PSA Peugeot Citroen as the two automakers discuss an engineering and development partnership to boost both of their struggling European operations.

Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC said its full-year profit more than doubled as more consumers used its online services, boosting performance particularly in the company's insurance and money segments.

At least one large financial institution has approached the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with an offer to buy out the remaining mortgage-backed toxic waste bonds it received from AIG as collateral for a $19.5 billion bailout in 2008, according to Bloomberg News, as banks are looking to profit from what many see as an incipient turnaround in the U.S. housing market.

The move is expected to increase anger that the bank is still paying large salaries while thousands, including more than 30,000 layoffs at the bank in the last three years, lose their jobs in a weakening global economy.

As one of the world's top gold producers, Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) seems to have a lot of advantages on its side. But uncertainty about peripheral items, including the effect of recent acquisitions and political developments that could hurt its bottom line, are keeping Wall Street analysts skeptical on the company.

While Wall Street slashes pay and freezes cash awards, Goldman Sachs Group's top five executives may reap special bonuses of $10.5 million apiece if the firm hits historically easy profit targets over the next two years.

Gold prices retreated from an earlier two-week high in Europe on Wednesday as persistent concerns over Europe's finances hurt the euro and weighed on stock markets, while a supply upset in major producer South Africa lifted platinum to a five-month high.

Bailed-out insurance giant American International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG), boosted by a one-time accounting gain, is expected to return to profitability when it reports its fourth-quarter earnings after markets close Thursday. Favorable stock market conditions and less reserve charges may also helped offset large losses stemmed from Thailand floods.

The euro jumped and U.S. Treasuries dipped on Tuesday after eurozone policymakers agreed to a second bailout package for Greece in talks that went deep into the night in Brussels, but concerns that the deal is only a short-term fix kept stocks subdued and Asian stocks unaffected.

Gold fell on Friday as investors took profits after an initial rally driven by growing confidence that Greece was edging closer toward winning a new rescue package.

Exchange operator Nasdaq OMX is trying to gain support for a legislative proposal that would give it a competitive edge over both rival exchanges and banks that operate anonymous trading venues known as "dark pools."

Deere & Co., the world's largest maker of farm tractors and combines, reported a 3.7 percent fiscal first quarter earnings increase that topped analysts' estimates, as U.S. farmers flush with cash update aging fleets.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE:ABX), the world's largest gold producer, is expected to report an increase in 2011 earnings on strong gold prices and controlled costs.

Deere & Co., the world's largest maker of farm tractors and combines, is expected to report strong fiscal first quarter results as U.S. farmers flush with cash update aging fleets and Deere's products gain greater acceptance in Brazil.

A number of top Federal Reserve officials likely saw a need for additional monetary easing at the central bank's meeting last month, although there are few signals the central bank will move soon.

British bank Barclays warned it may miss its medium-term profitability target after it ended 2011 with its worst quarter for three years as the euro zone debt crisis hit bond trading, dragging its annual profit down on the year before.

Credit Suisse posted a surprise fourth-quarter net loss as business at its investment bank slumped and it took almost 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.1 billion) of charges for slashing costs and risky assets to meet tough new capital rules.

Credit Suisse posted a surprise fourth-quarter net loss as business at its investment bank slumped and it took almost 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.1 billion) of charges for slashing costs and risky assets to meet tough new capital rules.

The head of Wegelin -- Switzerland's oldest private bank and which the U.S. has indicted for helping clients dodge taxes -- is standing back from his role as chairman of the country's influential Neue Zuercher Zeitung daily.