GOLDMAN SACHS

Top earners at financial and auto companies bailed out by the U.S. government will see their pay slashed under an Obama administration plan aimed at addressing public outrage over eye-popping paychecks, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The Galleon Group, caught up in the largest-ever hedge fund insider-trading scandal, is liquidating its funds even as investors enjoy one of the firm's best years.

The Obama administration plans to order that top earners at firms that received billions of dollars in government bailouts will see cash payouts cut by an average of about 90 percent from last year, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

U.S. President Barack Obama threw himself into the role of campaigner in chief on Wednesday, making appeals for Democratic candidates in two state governor races that some see as a referendum on his performance in the White House.

Morgan Stanley's riskier trading operations have stolen the thunder from its growing brokerage -- at least for now.

Morgan Stanley's riskier trading operations have stolen the thunder from its growing brokerage -- at least for now.

Electronic trading services provider Knight Capital Group Inc's quarterly profit fell short of expectations, as its trading income took a hit from lower market volatility and higher regulatory transaction fees, sending its shares down 18 percent.

Morgan Stanley reported better-than expected third-quarter profit on Wednesday with results bolstered by strong fixed income sales and trading revenue and improved investment banking underwriting results.

President Barack Obama chastised Wall Street firms on Tuesday for resisting tighter regulations of their industry and said they had not done enough to boost lending to small businesses.

Dozens of employees at Galleon Group are hunting for new jobs as investors debate how to react after the hedge fund's founder was arrested and charged with running one of the biggest insider trading schemes.

Bumper payouts to bankers should be seen as part of a longer term investment in London's economy, the vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International told a debate on ethics at St Paul's Cathedral on Tuesday.

Lockheed Martin Corp posted better-than-expected quarterly profit aided by a lower tax rate and share count on Tuesday, but revenue missed Wall Street estimates and the defense contractor warned earnings would drop in 2010, sending its shares down more than 5 percent.

Credit Suisse said on Tuesday it would make executives wait three-to-four years for their bonuses, as governments press banks to use compensation packages to limit excessive risk taking.

Las Vegas Sands Corp is seeking $1.75 billion to $2 billion five-year financing for its subsidiary, Venetian Macau, almost one year after cancelling a $5.25 billion financing and mothballing its Macau projects, banking sources said.

Carl Icahn, the famed corporate raider, accused finance company CIT Group Inc of trying to win support for its reorganization by overpaying for a new loan from some existing lenders.

Chinese property developer Evergrande Real Estate Group Limited plans to raise up to $769 million in a Hong Kong initial public offering, according to a term sheet obtained by Reuters on Monday, 63 percent below its attempted goal last year.

Four major risks threaten a solid year-end rally to cap this year's stunning bounce back by global equities -- earnings, bonds, currencies and cash.

Goldman Sachs Group (GS), the former investment bank known for aggressive risk taking, is facing a frontal assault on its traditional dominance of fixed income trading from an unlikely source: commercial bank JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM).

Goldman Sachs Group Inc opted to devote a smaller chunk of revenue to compensation in the latest quarter in what may be a sop to critics angry about a bonus bonanza so soon after the bank took billions in government funds.

Tech Earnings Strong; Financials Mixed; Economy Healing

The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 climbed on Thursday to 2009 closing highs, buoyed by energy stocks as oil prices jumped, but financials retreated as investors panned results from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.