MARKETS / FINANCE

Carlyle Group has sold a 2.5 percent stake worth around $860 million in China Pacific Insurance Co Ltd <2601.HK>, sources said, helping the buyout fund recoup its investment in what could be one of its best Asian deals to date.

U.S. private equity fund Carlyle Group has sold about $860 million worth of shares in China Pacific Insurance Co Ltd <2601.HK>, a source with direct with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

(Corrects paragraph 3 to show the 57 percent stake is for Hong Kong traded H-shares and does not take into account outstanding Shanghai shares <601601.SS>)

Chinese inflation showed signs of cresting in a manufacturing survey on Thursday, an early indication that the government will be able to stick to its course of gradual rather than aggressive monetary tightening.

China shut down more than 60,000 pornographic websites this year, netting almost 5,000 suspects in the process, a government spokesman said on Thursday, vowing no let-up in its campaign against material deemed obscene.

U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday charged a California woman with leaking secrets about technology companies to two hedge funds in exchange for illegal payments, expanding their probe into insider trading.

JPMorgan Chase & Co and Barclays Plc dropped their opposition to MBIA Inc's plan to restructure its businesses.

Set-top box maker Technicolor said on Wednesday that it will issue new shares worth about 213 million euros to pay back creditors after it failed to sell assets in its restructuring process fast enough.

U.S. Treasuries debt prices should stay firm into year-end, following a strong seven-year note auction on Wednesday, as investors square books ahead of year-end and prepare for Federal Reserve purchases next week.

The S&P 500 headed for its best December in nearly two decades as U.S. stocks advanced in thin trade on Wednesday, lifted by investor optimism about the economy in 2011.

A California woman has been arrested on charges of leaking secrets about technology companies to hedge funds, as federal prosecutors expand their probe into insider trading.

U.S. Treasuries extended price gains on Wednesday, with the 30-year bond rising over a point after a $29 billion auction of seven-year notes saw strong demand.

The Justice Department wants swaps markets regulators to be a lot tougher in their proposals to limit banks from controlling swaps trading platforms, weighing in on rules that could be finalized as early as next month.

Chile's industrial production rose 2.5 percent in November from a year ago, below market expectations in a sign of economic moderation that could prompt the central bank to hold its key rate steady in January.

Bankers specialising in equities and emerging markets will bask in a hiring hot-spot next year, while anaemic business spells job cuts in most other investment banking areas in Europe.

U.S. home foreclosures jumped in the third quarter and banks' efforts to keep borrowers in their homes dropped as the housing market continues to struggle, U.S. bank regulators said on Wednesday.

Spain aims to sell far less debt in 2011 than it did in 2010, keeping a lid on new issuance as it looks to balance deficit-reduction goals and a market seeking high returns to invest in peripheral euro zone economies.

Spain's Treasury cut net debt issuance plans for 2011 from 2010, responding to rising financing costs as markets demand higher premiums to hold debt from the euro zone's peripheral economies.

The U.S. securities regulator is looking into share trading in privately-held Internet companies including Facebook and Twitter, media reports said, citing people familiar with the inquiry.

China should hasten the liberalisation of its interest rate market to rein in accelerating inflation in the world's second-biggest economy, a senior Chinese central bank official said on Wednesday.

Allstate Corp has sued Bank of America Corp, its Countrywide lending unit and 17 other defendants for allegedly misrepresenting the risks on more than $700 million of mortgage securities it bought from Countrywide.

Groups including the United Nations, Harvard University, Google Inc and an organization co-founded by actor George Clooney are launching a project using satellites to watch Sudan for war crimes before a vote that could split the African country in two.

SAP AG must pay Oracle Corp prejudgment interest on a recent $1.3 billion copyright infringement verdict, but not at the formula suggested by Oracle, according to a judge's ruling filed on Tuesday.

U.S. buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners remains keen to acquire warehouse club operator BJ's Wholesale Club Inc and may launch a hostile bid if an auction is not initiated in the coming weeks, the New York Post said, citing sources.

Allstate Corp has sued Bank of America Corp, its Countrywide lending unit and 17 other defendants for allegedly misrepresenting the risks on more than $700 million of mortgage securities it bought from Countrywide.

Government support for the housing market should be cautiously withdrawn and not be rushed, Scott Garrett, the incoming chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services subcommittee, told the Wall Street Journal.

Shares of rare earths prospectors soared on Wednesday after China cut export quotas, threatening to reduce already tight global supplies and a risking action from the United States at the World Trade Organization.

Shares of rare earths prospectors soared on Wednesday after China cut export quotas, threatening to reduce already tight global supplies and a risking action from the United States at the World Trade Organization.

Several financial industry trade groups said on Tuesday that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission risks causing confusion and reducing legitimate trading practices if it fails to clearly outline what practices are prohibited under its new anti-manipulation authority.