MARKETS / FINANCE

Sony Corp and Fujifilm Holdings are leading contenders for an equity stake in Olympus Corp, sources familiar with the situation said, as the scandal-hit medical equipment maker moves to shore up its finances.

Stock index futures edged higher on Monday, after stocks posted their best week in a month as the euro zone debt crisis and the economy showed signs of stabilizing.

Euro zone finance ministers will decide on Monday what terms of a Greek debt restructuring they are ready to accept as part of a second bailout package for Athens after negotiators for private creditors said they could not improve their offer.

Gold prices rose Monday to a six-week high on widespread optimism that recent signs of global economic growth mark a sustainable pattern.

Michel Barnier, European Commissioner in charge of financial regulation, said on Monday that he would stick strictly to a timetable already agreed for implementing stricter Basel III bank capital requirements.

Business morale in France's manufacturing sector dropped unexpectedly in January as uncertainty over the state of the euro zone and world economy as well as upcoming elections weighed on sentiment, adding to hints that France started the year in a recession.

Uncertainty over the outcome of talks to restructure privately held Greek debt limited gains in European shares and the euro on Monday ahead of a finance ministers meeting to decide the terms of further aid for Greece.

Nokia Siemens Networks has raised more than 1.2 billion euros from a group of 14 European and U.S. banks as it looks to restructure the business and pay costs of a big redundancy program, a source close to the deal said on Monday.

Euro zone finance ministers will decide on Monday what terms of a Greek debt restructuring they are ready to accept as part of a second bailout package for Athens after negotiators for private creditors said they could not improve their offer.

German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp is in talks with Finland's Outokumpu over a possible merger of the two companies' stainless steel businesses.

FileSonic, a website providing online data storage, has disabled its file sharing services following a U.S.-led crackdown on a rival website and amid heated debate over Washington's attempts to clamp down on online piracy.

There are weeks when it can sound as if the European sovereign debt crisis is going round in circles.

The founder of file-sharing website Megaupload was ordered to be held in custody by a New Zealand court on Monday, as he denied charges of internet piracy and money laundering and said authorities were trying to portray the blackest picture of him.

France and Germany will call on Monday for a relaxation of global bank capital rules to prevent lending to the real economy being choked off, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Asian shares and the euro paused from last week's rally on Monday as investors sweated on the progress of crucial Greek talks on a debt swap deal to avoid a default, while activity was subdued due to the Lunar New Year holiday in much of Asia.

Japanese manufacturers are bracing for a possible breakup of the euro zone, according to a Reuters poll released on Monday, with 65 percent saying they see a need to prepare for the currency block's partial or complete collapse.

Two men sought worldwide in connection with a U.S.-led crackdown on the online file-sharing website Megaupload have been arrested, a New Zealand government lawyer told a court on Monday.

Would-be American home-buyers can take heart: U.S. housing is more affordable than in other English-speaking countries, according to a study of metropolitan areas around the world.

Nokia Siemens Networks has raised more than 1.2 billion euros from a consortium of 14 European and U.S. banks, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The founder of online file-sharing website Megaupload argued in a New Zealand court Monday he was innocent on charges of internet piracy and money laundering and said authorities were trying to portray the blackest picture of him.

Twitter is much more than a social network and has no time to waste worrying about newcomers like Google+ as it becomes more important as an information service and builds its advertising business, co-founder Jack Dorsey said on Sunday.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday the crucial factor in negotiations over a debt-swap plan for Greece was that Athens should by 2020 have a sustainable level of borrowing.

Stocks rising, bulls rampant are motifs you might pick if designing a coat of arms for Wall Street at the moment. But the motto should read: Caveat emptor. Yes, buyer beware.

The Federal Reserve could take the historic step this week of announcing an explicit target for inflation, a move that would fulfill a multi-year quest of the central bank's chairman, Ben Bernanke.

Switzerland's economy minister Johann Schneider-Ammann expects the Swiss franc to weaken to about 1.40 francs per euro in the medium term, he told a Swiss newspaper on Sunday.

Switzerland's economy minister Johann Schneider-Ammann expects the Swiss franc to weaken to about 1.40 francs per euro in the medium term, he told a Swiss newspaper on Sunday.

As natural-gas prices plunge to their lowest level in a decade, Venezuela plans to tap one of Latin America's biggest gas fields as it seeks to boost power generation and even help revive stagnant oil production.

Gingrich may have won the South Carolina primary but his liabilities in politics are so great that he will never be President, even in the unlikely event he wins the Republican nomination.

Office Depot Inc, the second-largest U.S. office supply retailer, is testing PayPal's new point-of-sale system in a few stores, a top executive told Reuters.