MARKETS / FINANCE

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is on pace to make record bonus payouts after a robust first half, the Guardian newspaper reported on Sunday.

The children of baby boomers will eventually resuscitate the pummeled U.S. housing market, Harvard University said on Monday, but in the meantime, limits on income and credit are sustaining the three-year bust.

Wall Street was poised for a lower open on Monday as investors assessed the potential strength of an economic recovery, while energy shares could be pressured by lower oil prices.

The U.S. recession is taking a bite out of national brand loyalty in products ranging from Advil pain reliever and Green Giant frozen vegetables to Jif peanut butter, according to a study released on Monday.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development added to a grim outlook from the World Bank on Monday, saying major economies will contract throughout 2009 and the problem of unemployment will linger.

Shares in Anglo American Plc jumped as much as 12 percent on Monday after rival Xstrata Plc sought talks about a merger of equals to better compete in a consolidating mining sector.

Wall Street was poised for a lower open on Monday as investors assessed the potential strength of an economic recovery ahead of a round of key data this week.

Oil dropped below $69 a barrel on Monday pressured by a stronger dollar and weaker European equities, but attacks on the oil industry in top African exporter Nigeria limited losses.

Oil fell toward $69 a barrel on Monday, extending the previous session's drop of more than 2 percent, as bearish sentiment over gasoline markets in the United States continued to dominate investors' concerns.

World stocks slipped on Monday while government bonds and the dollar rose as a decline in oil prices below $70 a barrel and caution ahead of this week's data and Federal Reserve meeting weighed on risky assets.

The Federal Reserve is considering creating a utility to replace the Wall Street banks that handle U.S. repo market transactions, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Asian stocks rose on Monday, with Chinese bank stocks getting a boost on hopes lending will stay strong, while U.S. Treasury yields were flat before a weekly record of $104 billion in new debt hits the market.

U.S. billionaire Len Blavatnik is planning to file a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase on Monday, accusing the bank of mismanaging an investment account that held $1 billion in assets owned by Blavatnik's industrial holding company, Access Industries, the New York Times said.

Japan's Nikkei stock average extended gains on Monday to rise 0.9 percent as investors were heartened by a broad rise in Asian shares, with car battery maker GS Yuasa Corp rebounding after a sell-off.

Asian stocks edged up on Monday, supported by buying of defensive sectors, while the U.S. dollar rose on caution ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting this week when policymakers may extend programmes to keep borrowing costs low.

National Australia Bank Ltd will pay $660 million for most of British insurer Aviva Plc's Australian businesses to become the country's dominant investment platform provider and insurance underwriter.

Investigators of Bernard Madoff's global swindle want more time to calculate the amount of money lost and the number of investors defrauded as they seek to determine restitution, but see no need to delay his June 29 sentencing, U.S. prosecutors said in court papers.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke must find a convincing way to explain why his central bank is in no hurry to raise interest rates even though the economy is stabilizing.

The Bank of America Corp. board has lost two more directors; this time Gen. Tommy Franks and Adm. Joseph Preuher were the ones to hand in resignation letters.

The worst of the global economic crisis is over, multi-billionaire financier George Soros told Polish news channel TVN24 on Sunday urging the creation of international regulations to oversee global markets.

There is no room for governments that have borrowed billions to fight the economic crisis to accumulate more debt, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Sunday.

Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, three associates and a top Caribbean regulator were indicted on fraud, conspiracy and obstruction charges in an elaborate $7 billion pyramid scheme to bilk investors, U.S. Justice Department officials said on Friday.

Citigroup’s top Asia executive, Ajay Banga, is joining credit card network MasterCard, becoming the firm’s President and Chief Operating Officer.

Signs unemployment pains may be easing in individual U.S. states in April disappeared by May, when jobless rates jumped in 48 states and the District of Columbia, according to data released on Friday.

On Friday, Palm said that it is planning to make the WebOS SDK available to everyone by the end of summer.

U.S. regulators closed three small banks on Friday, bringing the number of bank failures to 40 so far this year as the recession and delinquent loans erode the health of financial institutions.

On Friday, Microsoft announced the release of a stimulus package for select nonprofit organizations, associations and targeted trade groups at the inaugural NFP(not-for-profit) Summit in Washington, D.C.

Without further signs of life in the lackluster economy or hints from the Federal Reserve the outlook is improving, stocks' three-month rally may run into more obstacles next week.

Allen Stanford, the once high-flying Texas billionaire with a Caribbean knighthood and a penchant for publicity and cricket, has been brought down to earth with a thud as he faces criminal charges.