INVESTMENT

Roomy Khan, one of several former traders cooperating with the prosecution of the biggest U.S. hedge fund insider trading case, told a judge she tipped several people at hedge funds with inside information on companies to make money from trades, according to a court document.

The following are planned mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:

U.S. mall owner Developers Diversified Realty Corp (DDR.N) may sell most of its planned $400 million commercial mortgage bond at yields well below existing issues, according to Thomson IFR on Thursday.

Chinese property developer Longfor Properties Co raised $912 million, pricing its Hong Kong initial public offering at the top end of an indicated range on Thursday, according to two sources close to the deal.

Strong demand for a piece of a China property company and a brokerage show that selected IPOs are still being coveted despite investor fatigue with the surge of new listings.

News, details on corporate bond issues in the European markets on Thursday:

Gold Hits New High; Shift to Market Currencies; New Deficit Fighting Tactic

Chinese property developer Longfor Properties Co raised $912 million, pricing its Hong Kong initial public offering at the top end of an indicated range on Thursday, according to two sources close to the deal.

An inverse Head and Shoulders pattern is a bullish reversal pattern and for the pattern to be reliable, it should occur in a downtrend. A downtrend is reversed at the left shoulder and buyers drive prices back up to the neckline. Sellers then push prices down to the head and buyers drive prices back to the neckline again. Any sellers who are remaining are only able to push prices back to the right shoulder before buyers step in and drive prices through the neckline.

A double bottom is a bullish reversal pattern that usually occurs after an extended downward movement in price. In good double bottom patterns, the second trough is typically lower than the first trough.

A Bull Flag pattern is a bullish continuation pattern that generally occurs after a large run up in price. After a period of price consolidation in the flag, prices generally continue in the direction of the prior trend.

A double top is a bearish reversal pattern that typically occurs after an extended upward movement in price. Prices reverse once, moving downwards to the confirmation level followed by an upward movement in price. Prices reverse again at the second peak, and completion of the pattern occurs when prices break through the confirmation line.

The president of Calpers urged fellow board members at the biggest U.S. public pension fund on Wednesday to back his plan to require placement agents to be subjected to laws for lobbyists in response to events alleging their undue influence over investment decisions.

Sellers of protection on the loans of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer are facing losses of 41.5 percent, based on the results of an auction used to determine the value of the bankrupt company's credit default swaps.

A senior Citigroup Inc executive said the bank is comfortable with its valuation for an asset that one accounting expert expects to be written down.

Morgan Stanley's Australian real estate unit, Investa Property Group, has abandoned a plan to float some office assets as the offer price did not meet investors' expectations, it said on Wednesday.

Initial public offerings in Europe are gaining momentum, with three major IPOs set to launch before year-end and about $10 billion that could be raised in the next six months as volatile equity markets calm down.

A group of private equity firms is expected to progress to the second round of the sale of second-hand car dealership British Car Auctions, people familiar with the matter said.

Dutch market regulator AFM has fined GMAC Nederland NV, the local unit of bailed-out U.S. auto and home lender GMAC Financial Services, for not meeting rules on tighter standards for consumer credit and lending.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher opening on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.9 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.8 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.8 percent at 4:54 a.m. EST.

Gold shot to a record high on Wednesday as the dollar slipped to its lowest in more than a year and analysts predict further gains for the precious metal on the U.S. unit's persistent weakness.