INVESTMENT

Morgan Stanley could be the first of many big banks to tap their more staid businesses for the next generation of leaders, but that might not be enough to contain the culture of risk-taking that creates financial meltdowns.

The severity of the U.S. financial crisis exposed investors' need to whittle down a dependence on dollar-denominated assets and diversify globally, two of Wall Street's most influential figures said on Sunday.

Japan Airlines Corp is considering raising about 250 billion yen ($2.76 billion) by March through measures including new shares issuances and borrowings, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.

The former deputy Governor of the Bank of England said he was astounded the U.S. government let Lehman Brothers go under, and that the bank's collapse marked a clear moment when people lost confidence in the markets.

Central clearing of privately traded derivatives contracts won't be enough to make the $600 trillion sector safe, while clearing of some bespoke trades may not be desirable, the Bank of International Settlements said.

Efforts by private equity firms to sell stakes in portfolio companies through initial public offerings continued late this week as two North American companies took steps toward coming to market.

The parent company of American Airlines is in talks to set up a broad venture with Japan Airlines Corp in a deal that could see the U.S. carrier investing hundreds of millions of dollars in JAL, The Wall Street Journal cited sources as saying on Saturday.

New York-based private equity firm Quadrangle Capital Partners will substantially close its London office and pursue its European investments out of the United States, an investor letter dated Friday said.

A dozen or so financial companies, from banks to asset managers, are planning initial public offerings by year's end, betting that investors are over their aversion to the sector a year after Wall Street's crisis boiled over.

Canadian retailer Dollarama Inc, backed by private equity firm Bain Capital, has filed for an initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange, according to a regulatory filing.

Efforts by private equity firms to sell stakes in portfolio companies through initial public offerings continued late this week as two North American companies took steps toward coming to market.

When it comes to water, it is pretty clear to investors that a growing global shortage will bring in new business opportunities.

A U.S. judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit against Citigroup Inc brought by buyers of auction rate securities, a $330 billion market that collapsed in early 2008.

Harvard and Yale, America's two richest universities, said on Thursday their endowments lost roughly 30 percent of their value last year, showing how severely the financial crisis battered even the world's best managers.

In obscure corners of the U.S. stock market -- where flash orders, dark pools and other controversial practices thrive -- regulators are trying to shine a light to guard against unfair dealing.

Chinese machinery maker Tengzhong's bid to acquire the Hummer brand from General Motors Co should be viewed as a trade in technology and not an overseas investment, a top Chinese planning official said on Thursday.

Warren Buffett is often a go-to guy when companies want to raise money.

Five black fire safety directors of West Indian descent sued Bank of America Corp's Merrill Lynch unit on Friday, accusing it of discrimination on the basis of race and national origin, leading to their 2005 firings.

Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis said his company is still in talks with U.S. officials on how to compensate the government for a prior loss-sharing agreement, according to a letter released by a watchdog lawmaker on Thursday.

Canadian retailer Dollarama Inc filed a preliminary prospectus with the country's securities regulatory authorities for an initial public offering.