UNITED STATES

If Wells Fargo's strong first-quarter preliminary performance is any sign, stocks could rally further this week on any reassuring news when three other big banks post quarterly results.

Drugmakers should deliver a solid set of quarterly results but investors will be watching for any signs of recession choking demand for more expensive treatments.

Britain's PZ Cussons has made it onto the shortlist of bidders for the European household and personal care business of U.S. consumer goods group Sara Lee , the Sunday Times reported without citing sources.

If Wells Fargo's strong first-quarter preliminary performance is any sign, stocks could rally further this week on any reassuring news when three other big banks post quarterly results.

Swiss bank UBS will announce more job cuts soon, with staff in Switzerland and departments like marketing to be hit hard, newspapers reported on Sunday.

Swiss bank Credit Suisse has started closing down the offshore accounts of U.S. clients who have not declared the money to the U.S. authorities, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

A summit of Asian leaders in Thailand was canceled on Saturday after anti-government protesters swarmed into the meeting's venue, renewing doubts about the durability of the government.

Japan's government is finalizing plans to provide Pakistan with up to $1 billion in economic aid over the next two years, the Nikkei business daily reported Saturday.

President Barack Obama said on Friday the recession-hit U.S. economy was showing glimmers of hope despite remaining under strain and promised further steps in coming weeks to tackle the financial crisis.

U.S. regulators on Friday closed New Frontier Bank of Greeley, Colorado, and set up a temporary bank so depositors can open accounts at other insured institutions.

The U.S. Department of Labor subpoenaed Tribune Co over an employee stock plan crucial to real estate mogul Sam Zell's buyout of the media company, Tribune said in a bankruptcy court filing on Thursday.

U.S. retailers will continue to face difficulties in the second quarter as both traffic and sales levels are expected to post steady declines versus the same period last year, according to retail research and information company ShopperTrak.

Food prices rose last year more because of higher energy prices, not the production of corn-based ethanol, a study showed.

Somali pirates holding an American hostage on a drifting lifeboat want $2 million for his release, a fellow pirate onshore said on Friday.

The U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank have asked top U.S. banks not to discuss the “stress tests” which regulators are conducting to determine the viability of the companies, according to reports.

Shareholders advisory company RiskMetrics Group Inc recommended Citigroup Inc shareholders vote against electing some current and former leaders of the company's audit committee, citing poor risk oversight.

President Barack Obama said on Friday the recession-hit U.S. economy was showing glimmers of hope despite remaining under strain and promised further steps in coming weeks to tackle the financial crisis.

Senior managers at a major corporate credit union seized last month were preparing to report a credit loss significantly below what an external analysis had revealed, the U.S. regulator of credit unions said on Friday.

President Barack Obama said on Friday the recession-hit U.S. economy was showing glimmers of hope despite remaining under strain and promised further steps in coming weeks to tackle the financial crisis.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday, to clarify their agency's jurisdictional responsibilities for leasing and licensing renewable energy projects on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

President Barack Obama said on Friday that he was seeing glimmers of hope across the recession-hit U.S. economy but that it still remained under severe strain.