MARKETS / FINANCE

U.S. authorities are preparing to charge four former Credit Suisse Group AG employees with criminal and civil fraud related to write-downs on subprime mortgage derivatives at the height of the financial crisis, sources familiar with the matter said.

European Union antitrust regulators have blocked the merger of exchange operators Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext, making the sector's fourth failed tie-up attempt in a year.

Facebook Inc. will list a preliminary fund-raising goal of $5 billion on Wednesday, which is smaller than some earlier estimates of the offering. The public stock offering will probably value the company at $80 billion to $100 billion. But how did simple status updates and random photos of users help create what will likely be the biggest tech IPO in till date? Let's try to find out here...

Gold prices rose Wednesday, at one point topping the $1,750 mark, but generally stayed within a narrow range in the absence of any single dominant factor.

Morgan Stanley is all set to trump Goldman Sachs in a deal to buy a brokerage seat in Indonesia from PT Tiga Pilar Sekuritas, sources said, as the race to tap the growing financial market in Southeast Asia's biggest economy intensifies.

Euro zone manufacturing activity declined for a sixth straight month in January as a slight upturn in Germany failed to offset a prolonged contraction in the bloc's smaller economies, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Debt-laden Greece and its international lenders must focus less on deficit reduction and more on reform because there are limits to what society can tolerate, a senior IMF official said on Wednesday.

China's factory sector expanded slightly in January, confounding expectations for a contraction and supporting hopes the world's second-biggest economy will avoid a hard landing, a government purchasing managers' index showed.

Stocks rose and the euro steadied on Wednesday as investors remained on guard ahead of the release of manufacturing surveys from the Europe's biggest economies after China's powerful factories showed a slight expansion.

U.S. investigating authorities have traced more than 90 percent of the customer money which disappeared from MF Global around the time of its bankruptcy, the New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the investigation.

Debt-laden and recession-hit Greece must accelerate structural reforms and slow down on deficit reduction, the head of the IMF's inspection team for Greece was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Asian stock markets struggled on Wednesday as weaker U.S. data damped down recent optimism that the world's largest economy may escape the gloom from the euro zone debt crisis, while Chinese manufacturing surveys failed to break the cautious mood.

Morgan Stanley is all set to trump Goldman Sachs in a deal to buy a brokerage seat in Indonesia from PT Tiga Pilar Sekuritas, five sources said, as the race to tap the growing financial market in Southeast Asia's biggest economy intensifies.

U.S. authorities are preparing to charge former Credit Suisse Group AG employees with criminal and civil fraud related to write-downs on subprime mortgage derivatives at the height of the financial crisis, sources familiar with the matter said.

U.S. authorities are preparing to charge former Credit Suisse Group AG employees with criminal and civil fraud related to write-downs on subprime mortgage derivatives at the height of the financial crisis, sources familiar with the matter said.

Financial industry observers are increasingly skeptical that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's planned proposal to require a uniform fiduciary standard for all financial advisers will become a reality this year, if ever.

The U.S. stock-market surge in January may feel to some like having reached a remote mountain peak. It was a lot of work, but there are not many people to celebrate with.

Mitt Romney has been declared the winner of the Florida primary, restoring much of the momentum he lost to Newt Gingrich in South Carolina.

Prosecutors have subpoenaed the Twitter records of an Occupy Wall Street protester who was arrested in October during a mass protest on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Federal prosecutors expanded their insider trading case against former Goldman Sachs Group Inc director Rajat Gupta on Tuesday, saying the illegal activity lasted longer and involved more trades than alleged.

It's hardly a huge surprise: those Federal Reserve officials that made careers in the financial sector are much wealthier than their colleagues, according to new disclosures on Tuesday.

Just when Americans have largely forgotten about the Treasury's controversial bailout program, the Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday blamed it for an anticipated $23 billion widening in the government's deficit.

Apple Inc. just can't lose. After becoming one of the most valuable companies in the world (the market cap is currently at $425.61 billion), Apple followed up by becoming the top PC maker in the world. The achievement is a testament to the company's ability to sell innovative products and to its rabid fan base. Whether Apple is able to remain the top PC maker remains largely dependent on new senior vice president of retail operations John Browett's ability to keep sales strong.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp, which has responsibility for insuring certain benefits under private defined benefit pension plans, said on Tuesday it believes American Airlines will seek to terminate employee pensions in bankruptcy.

Amazon.com Inc shares slumped after the largest Internet retailer said it may lose money in the first quarter, a sign the company is continuing to spend heavily on expansion and new ventures.

Russia continues to sell arms to Syria as the Assad regime cracks down on political upheaval.

Wall Street closed its best month since October on a flat note on Tuesday as weaker-than-expected economic reports surprised investors after a stream of positive data in recent months.

Mohammad Shafia -- found guilty of the honor killing murders of his three daughters on Monday -- will keep his millions of dollars in real estate holdings and personal wealth while serving a life sentence.

Wall Street closed its best month since October on a flat note on Tuesday as weaker-than-expected economic reports surprised investors after a stream of positive data in recent months.