MARKETS / FINANCE

The increasing use of dark pools, or venues where stock trades are hidden from public view, is a growing concern for regulators, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

U.S. housing prices may still fall more than 10 percent, killing an incipient recovery, as demand from first-time home buyers fades, leading economist Nouriel Roubini said on Thursday.

Marriott International posted a lower quarterly profit on Thursday and said pricing pressures would continue to erode margins next year, sending its shares down as much as 5.9 percent.

Shares of health insurers slumped on Thursday as analysts said a report issued on a key U.S. Senate healthcare reform bill should give the legislation a boost.

Stocks rallied on Thursday on hopes of a strong earnings season after a solid profit from Alcoa Inc and a data suggesting stabilization in the labor market.

Morgan Stanley likely broke a string of three straight losses in the third quarter, while chief rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc extended its dominance.

The increasing use of dark pools, or venues where stock trades are hidden from public view, is a growing concern for regulators, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance hit a nine-month low last week and retailers reported their first monthly sales gain in over a year on Thursday, easing fears that recovery from recession would be unsustainable.

Stocks rose on Thursday as a surprise profit from Alcoa Inc and reassuring monthly sales from major retailers, including Macy's Inc , bolstered economic recovery hopes.

Marriott International posted a third-quarter profit that surpassed analyst estimates on Thursday, but said the pricing environment in 2010 would remain difficult.

The head of Alcatel-Lucent, the French telecoms equipment maker seen as a possible takeover target, said on Thursday that deals were not the best solution for the company's problems.

Display and imaging products maker Microvision Inc said it has secured an initial purchase order from a consumer electronics original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to private label its PicoP display engine-based accessory laser Pico projector.

The European Central Bank kept its main refinancing rate unchanged at a record low of 1.0 percent on Thursday, as expected by economists.

Stocks rose at the open on Thursday after a surprise profit from Alcoa Inc boosted the start of the earnings season.

Alcoa Inc shares rose more than 4 percent on Thursday after the aluminum producer reported its first profit in a year in what Wall Street viewed as a bellwether of how industrial companies are recovering from the recession.

The Bank of England left interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent for the seventh month running on Thursday and said it would keep its 175 billion pound asset buying programme in place, as expected.

Stocks headed for a higher open on Thursday as a surprise profit from Alcoa Inc boosted the start of the earnings season and surging commodity prices underpinned a global equity advance.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance fell more-than-expected to a nine-month low last week, data showed, suggesting the labor market was healing despite a setback in September.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance fell more-than-expected to a nine-month low last week, data showed, suggesting the labor market was healing despite a setback in September.

Stock futures added to gains on Thursday following a report on weekly jobless claims that suggested some stabilization in the labor market.

The number of employees calling in sick to work with fake excuses is holding steady at one-third among U.S. workers each year but fewer are getting fired for it, according to research released on Tuesday.

California's plan to slow climate change will boost the state economy and save hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk from rising energy costs, a study by a University of California economist said on Wednesday.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance fell more-than-expected to a nine-month low last week, according to a government report on Thursday that suggested the labor market was healing despite a setback in September.

Britain's top share index rose on Thursday, helped by gains in mining stocks on firmer metals prices and a surprise quarterly profit from U.S. aluminium producer Alcoa (AA.N).

Stock futures rose on Thursday as the latest earnings season got off to a positive start after Alcoa posted a surprise profit and as surging commodity prices underpinned a global equity advance.

Higher credit costs are likely to weigh on earnings for the U.S. mid-cap banks in the third quarter, but expectations appear fairly realistic going into the period, Morgan Stanley said.

Canada's dollar rose against theU.S. currency early on Thursday on the backdrop of highercommodity prices and growing expectations that domestic jobsdata due later this week could be better than expected.

Every 13 seconds in America, there is another foreclosure filing. That's the rhythm of a crisis that threatens to choke off hopes for a recovery in the U.S. housing market as it destroys hundreds of billions of dollars in property values a year.

Akbank (AKBNK.IS) General Manager Ziya Akkurt said on Thursday the Turkish lender would target 15-16 percent loan growth in 2010, outstripping banking sector growth as a whole, which he forecast at 12-13 percent.