INVESTMENT

Buyout funds are making a comeback, scouring deals from Australia to America after nearly two years of virtual shutdown, but private equity-backed M&A volumes remain far short of the boom times.

Auto maker Zhejiang Geely said on Thursday it was teaming up with Chinese regional asset manager Daqing State Asset Operation Co in its planned $1.8 billion takeover of Ford Motor Co's Volvo Cars unit.

The former Soviet Central Asian republics are at a precarious crossroad today between accomplishing monumental progress, like Kazakhstan, and flirting with disaster and the prospects of civil war, like Kyrgyzstan.

Lawmakers on Thursday agreed to boost banks' capital requirements and neared agreement on a derivatives crackdown as they closed in on a historic overhaul of financial regulations.

Hasbro Inc said it is not involved in any talks regarding a potential sale of the company, despite a news report that said it had been in negotiations for a possible leveraged buyout.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq down 0.6 to 1.1 percent at 4:44 a.m. EDT.

Four days after U.S. securities regulators charged Goldman Sachs Group with civil fraud, Ash Williams, the top administrator for Florida's $138 billion in public investments, wanted to talk to someone at the Wall Street firm.

Gold prices continued to trade higher in Asian trade Wednesday mainly on weak equity markets while ETF holdings rose to another record. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1240.24 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while U.S. gold futures for August delivery was at $1240.18 an ounce.

Gold edged up on Wednesday, tracking an increase in ETF holdings as investors sought a safe haven from sliding stock markets and worries about the pace of global economic recovery.

JPMorgan Chase & Co reshuffled three top executives, including its chief financial officer, as part of an effort to ensure a deep bench of executives who could eventually succeed CEO Jamie Dimon.

Weak May U.S. housing data undercut stocks and sent U.S. Treasuries up, while Europe grappled with a fresh tremor to its banking system after Fitch downgraded French bank BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA).

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.4 percent at 0930 GMT.

Gold prices have once again climbed to record levels of $1264 last week before correcting on profit taking thereby cementing the appeal of the yellow metal as a safe haven for investors. China announced its move toward a more flexible currency exchange rate mechanism which has improved the investor sentiments in general but the softening of the dollar has helped the recent surge in gold prices to record levels.

Asian stocks retreated on Tuesday as investors booked profits a day after China's weekend decision to give its currency more flexibility triggered a risk rally.

(In paragraph 8, Petrobras corrects projected subsalt production to 241,000 barrels per day instead of 152,000; in paragraph 9, Petrobras corrects planned investment to $33 billion, up 18 percent from previous figure instead of $30.9 billion, up 10 percent; in paragraph 10, corrects subsalt production projection to 1.08 million bpd instead of 1.18 million; in paragraph 15, corrects percent of inve...

Biovail Corp is to take over U.S-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International in a complex deal that positions the enlarged firm to better serve the growing baby boomer market.

A debt package tied to a New York office tower will be the first of its kind to tap property securitization and public finance markets together, sources close to the deal said on Monday.

The hike on individual long-term capital gains tax rate in 2011 may have interesting implications.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, rising alongside global stocks after China's vow to allow a flexible yuan exchange rate boosted investors' appetite for risky assets.

Majority of the investors who took part in the 2010 Resource Investor Survey felt that gold prices will reach $1500 by end of 2010, according to Dig Media Inc. Dig Media recently conducted its Resources Investing News 2010 Survey to gauge the interests of its readers and gain insight into investors' perception of the markets.

Citigroup Inc is looking to raise more than $3 billion for private equity and hedge funds this year, a person familiar with the matter said.