INVESTMENT

News, details on bond issues in the European markets on Wednesday:

European shares fell for a second day on Wednesday, with financial stocks taking most points off the leading index after Deutsche Bank unexpectedly released quarterly figures that knocked its stock.

Profit taking in technology stocks pushed Asian shares slightly lower on Wednesday, though they remained near a 15-month high, while some stability in the U.S. dollar and a rise in inventories knocked oil below $79 a barrel.

Morgan Stanley may hand over its unit Crescent Real Estate Equities Co to Barclays Capital, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.24 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.34 percent.

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.

The practice of brokers giving high-frequency traders unfettered access to the U.S. stock markets is raising anxiety among industry players who fear the risks it poses and the damage that could be done to their own reputations.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer on Tuesday jumped in to the debate over anonymous trading venues known as dark pools, calling for tough new regulations a day before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission meets to consider new rules.

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.

Private equity firms often fret that it is hard to source deals in Japan because companies there loathe making big restructuring moves.

Western Union Co said quarterly earnings fell after settlement charges, but beat expectations and the world's largest payment transfer company improved its outlook for 2009, sending shares up 1 percent.

Asset manager BlackRock Inc on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings rose a stronger than forecast 46 percent as more risk-tolerant clients shifted their investments to higher-margin products like stock and bond funds.

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding has filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse in the U.S. after two former directors at the bank, later charged with fraud, sold the company $545 million in risky securities.

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.

Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is in advanced preparations to take rifle and ammunition maker Freedom Group Inc public, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Asset manager Invesco Ltd said quarterly profit fell 20 percent as investment management fees declined, but its shares rose on news of a deal to buy the mutual fund business of Morgan Stanley.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reported a third-quarter net loss after a charge to restructure its investment portfolio, but earnings excluding one-time items topped expectations and its shares climbed almost 3 percent.

Asset manager BlackRock Inc reported a 46 percent jump in third-quarter earnings Tuesday, topping expectations, boosted by cost controls and increased appetite for risk among its clients.

European shares fell in afternoon trading on Tuesday after data showed new construction of U.S. homes rose by less than expected in September.