MARKETS / FINANCE

A unique deal to protect part of the annual bonus pool at UBS Australia expires within weeks, say sources with direct knowledge of the matter, raising the prospect that the business may lose some top talent if it's not renewed.

A consortium of private equity group Silver Lake, software giant Microsoft Corp and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz are reworking their bid for a minority stake in Internet company Yahoo Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Two of Canada's biggest labor unions are discussing a merger, Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) National President Ken Lewenza said in an interview on Friday.

The credit rating agency Fitch has told euro zone countries it believes a comprehensive solution to their debt crisis is beyond reach, putting six euro zone economies including Italy on watch for potential downgrades in the near future.

World stocks were mixed and the euro was flat on Friday as worries about downgrades of weaker euro zone countries curbed risk appetite, pushing aside an improved outlook on the U.S. economy.

California's Stanford University, one of the top engineering schools in the United States, said on Friday it had dropped out of the bidding to build an applied sciences and engineering college campus in New York City.

Moody's on Friday cut Belgium's credit rating by two notches, saying the euro zone debt crisis increases funding risks for countries with high public debt burdens.

Bank of America Corp's current chief executive is doing the right things to fix the company, but it will take time, said Hugh McColl Jr., the retired architect of the second biggest U.S. bank.

There is still a lot of work to do before hundreds of millions of dollars can be returned to customers of bankrupt MF Global , the woman leading the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's investigation said on Friday.

A law firm that led mortgage bondholders to extract a $8.5 billion settlement from Bank of America Corp is turning its sights on JPMorgan Chase & Co .

Bill Gross's PIMCO Total Return Fund, the world's largest bond fund, keeps shrinking as investors look to put their money with some of his competitors.

Even the safest euro zone banks could start queuing up at the European Central Bank for cash in the next few months as their massive exposure to government debt freezes them out of money markets.

Six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were sued by U.S. regulators on charges of misleading investors about the mortgage finance companies' exposure to risky home loans in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

Europe's financial crisis poses a threat to U.S. banks and the economy but it is up to the continent's leaders -- not the Federal Reserve -- to find a resolution, a top official at the central bank said on Friday.

Soros Fund Management, the investment company of billionaire George Soros, has laid off a handful of analysts and portfolio managers in recent months.

Fitch Ratings on Friday warned it may downgrade France and six other euro zone countries as it believes that a comprehensive solution to the region's debt crisis is technically and politically beyond reach.

Europe's debt crisis threatens to throw a strengthening economy off track, but more monetary accommodation from the U.S. Federal Reserve is not the answer, a top Fed official known for his hawkish views on inflation said on Friday.

Six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were sued by U.S. regulators on charges of misleading investors about the mortgage finance companies' exposure to risky home loans in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

Gold found a bottom to bounce off Friday as investors, especially those focused on bullion, responded to the bargains emerging from this week's huge price drops.

Stocks were little changed in volatile trading on Friday as a warning by Fitch it may cut ratings on some European nations offset gains in growth-related shares.

Credit rating agency Fitch told the euro zone on Friday it thinks a comprehensive solution to the bloc's debt crisis is beyond reach, as it put an number of the bloc's economies including Italy on watch for potential downgrades.

Consumer prices were flat in November as Americans paid less for cars and gasoline, a further sign of a cooldown in inflation that could give the Federal Reserve more room to help a still weak economy.

Stocks extended losses on Friday, with the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 falling into negative territory after Fitch threatened to cut the ratings of several euro zone nations, reigniting worries about the region.

Italy's prime minister urged European policymakers Friday to beware of dividing the continent with their efforts to fight its debt crisis, warning against a short-term hunger for rigor in some countries, in a swipe at Germany.

Stocks rose on Friday, with growth-related shares leading the way as investors focused on a brighter U.S. economic outlook.

Zynga Inc shares opened as much as 10 percent above their offer price on Friday but then rolled back below the IPO price, showing that investors were still concerned about its dependence on Facebook and its growth prospects and that demand for hot tech IPOs may be waning.

Oil, the lifeblood of the global economy, has plunged more than 10 percent in the past five days, to about $93 per barrel Friday, and the compelling question for investors and motorists alike is -- in early 2012 where does oil head?

Zynga Inc shares opened as much as 10 percent above their offer price on Friday, but then rolled back showing that investors were still concerned about its dependence on Facebook and its growth prospects.

Europe's debt crisis has deepened and become more entrenched, posing a serious risk to the economic outlook, a senior Treasury official told lawmakers on Friday.