MARKETS / FINANCE

Bailed-out British lender Lloyds Banking Group is to cut a further 5,000 jobs by the end of 2010 as it continues to overhaul its operations and integrate HBOS.

Investment bank Lazard's board may pick more than one person to lead the company following the death of Chief Executive Bruce Wasserstein, the New York Post said.

Bailed-out British lender Lloyds Banking Group is to cut a further 5,000 jobs by the end of 2010 as it continues to overhaul its operations and integrate HBOS.

Britain's top two banks, HSBC and Barclays, signaled bad debts may be past their peak, with HSBC declaring on Tuesday the first drop in U.S. consumer finance impairments for three years.

Europe's biggest bank HSBC Holdings Plc said its underlying third-quarter profits were significantly ahead of a year ago and losses on U.S. consumer loans had shown their first fall in three years.

Barclays Plc said strong investment banking helped limit a fall in profit in the third quarter and it expects bad debts to peak earlier than it had previously expected.

Europe's biggest bank HSBC Holdings said its underlying third quarter profits were significantly ahead of a year ago and said losses on U.S. consumer loans had shown their first fall in three years.

Top forecasters are growing more confident the U.S. economy has embarked on a sustainable recovery, a survey released on Tuesday showed.

Internet giant Yahoo Inc is committed to grow its operating margin at a 15-20 percent pace over the next three years, CEO Carol Bartz said on Tuesday.

The operator of Tagged.com will pay $750,000 and overhaul its practices to resolve charges that the social networking site tricked members into providing personal details to lure new members and send out tens of millions of spam emails.

Google Inc said on Monday that it was acquiring of AdMob, one of the largest mobile advertising networks, for $750 million, widening its bet that cell phone advertising could become the Internet's next-big money maker.

Pay and venue were the focus of a jury's early deliberations on Monday in the trial of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers accused of fraud over dealings in mortgage-backed securities early in the financial crisis.

Sprint Nextel Corp is starting the process of eliminating up to 2,500 jobs in the current quarter in an effort to save at least $350 million annually, the company said on Monday.

Electronic Arts Inc has acquired privately held Playfish for $275 million in cash plus other consideration as the maker of the Madden NFL series expands in the growing social gaming sector.

The trial of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers went to a jury on Monday, the first high-profile Wall Street executives criminally charged with fraud over subprime mortgage-backed securities that fueled the market meltdown.

Top U.S. network equipment maker Cisco Systems on Monday launched a $5 billion three-part debt sale, showing the company replenishing its war chest as it steps up acquisitions.

A former enforcement lawyer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pleaded guilty to impersonating two people to help confessed Ponzi scheme operator Marc Dreier defraud hedge funds.

Google Inc said on Monday that it could best help wireless service provider Clearwire Corp by cooperating on products and strategy rather than giving it more financial assistance.

Electronic Arts Inc has acquired privately held Playfish for $275 million in cash plus other consideration as the maker of the Madden NFL series expands in the growing social gaming sector.

U.S. network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc said on Monday it was extending the offer period for its $3 billion bid for Norwegian video conferencing company Tandberg by nine days to November 18.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp rose 7 percent on Monday after the casino operator said it would look to raise up to $3.35 billion through an initial public offering of shares in its Macau business.

New York's attorney general said the operator of Tagged.com would pay $500,000 and overhaul its practices to resolve charges that the social networking site tricked members into providing personal details to lure new members and send out tens of millions of spam emails.

Japan's Toshiba made a solo bid for Areva's transmission and distribution (T&D) business on Monday while AXA Private Equity said it would not join the race for the French nuclear group's coveted unit.

Morgan Stanley is looking to sell its 34 percent stake in investment bank China International Capital Corp, the U.S. bank's China chief executive said on Monday.

Morgan Stanley is looking to sell its 34 percent stake in investment bank China International Capital Corp, the U.S. bank's China chief executive said on Monday.

French insurer AXA sought full control of its majority-owned Asian arm to get a tighter grip on the region's booming markets, and stuck with plans to grow in China in spite of regulatory obstacles there.

French insurer AXA bid for full control of its majority-owned Asian arm on Monday, seeking a tighter grip on the region's strong growth potential.

Advanta Corp , a small business credit card lender in the United States, said on Sunday it filed for bankruptcy protection after the economic crisis over the last two years devastated its small business customers.

Kraft Foods Inc is expected to formalize on Monday a hostile takeover bid for Britain's Cadbury Plc valued at roughly 10.2 billion pounds ($16.7 billion), sources familiar with the situation said on Sunday.