INVESTMENT

U.S.-based financial services firm Morgan Stanley, wants to exit its back-office operations in India, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Monday.

Swedish telecoms company TeliaSonera stood by its outlook for 2009 and said that given the tough economic climate it would continue to develop Yoigo, its majority-owned Spanish mobile business.

Permira, CVC Capital and Bain Capital have been shortlisted for the second round of bidding for Bellsystem24, Citigroup's telemarketing company in Japan, sources with direct knowledge of the deal said.

Investors in Asia, who currently have few options among insurance stocks, may soon be spoiled for choice as several life underwriters prepare initial public offerings that could raise billions of dollars.

Asia's initial public offering market is booming as economies inch out of recession and equity markets improve, setting the scene for the region to emerge as the world's top spot for firms rushing to raise money.

Top executives from some of the world's leading banks will gather for a conference in Frankfurt this week as lenders seek to rebuild trust in the global financial system almost a year after Lehman Brothers collapsed.

Gold held broadly steady on Monday just shy of $995 per ounce, consolidating stellar gains last week that took it tantalizingly close to the $1,000 psychological level, with buyers encouraged by dollar weakness.

Chinese shares rose on Monday to extend gains on hopes that Beijing will continue to use policy to support asset prices, while gold prices dipped but kept within striking distance of $1,000 after U.S. unemployment rose to a 26-year high.

Huntsman , an American chemicals group, is looking to buy chemical plants in China with part of a $2.7 billion compensation package, said senior executive Paul Hulme in a Financial Times interview on Monday.

Wall Street's mettle will be tested this week as traders return from summer vacations to resurfacing signs of weakness after a six-month rally for stocks.

British bank HSBC has made a bid of about 1 billion pounds ($1.63 billion) for Dutch financial group ING's private banking businesses, according to a report in The Sunday Times.

American International Group Inc agreed on Saturday to sell a part of its asset management business to Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li's Pacific Century Group for about $500 million, after an auction process that dragged on for months.

Money managers were mostly net long on major U.S. commodities in the week to September 1, according to a government report issued on Friday to increase transparency on hedge fund bets in the markets.

Blank-check company Orbit Acquisition Corp withdrew its filing for an initial public offering on Friday, citing market conditions in a letter to U.S. regulators.

Independent oil exploration company Cobalt International Energy Inc became the latest private equity-owned company to seek to raise money in an initial public offering, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.

New data from the Boston mutual fund giant shows a rise in how often it voted against management proposals in the just-concluded proxy season. It also opposed company pay plans and the election of company directors more frequently.

The Securities and Exchange Commission should overhaul management and take advantage of the hungry, experienced lawyers it employs, so that when the nextBernard Madoff is staring in its face, it will catch him.

China's largest pharmaceutical products distributor, Sinopharm Group Co Ltd, is set to raise up to HK$8.73 billion ($1.13 billion) in an initial public offering of shares in Hong Kong, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Friday.

State-run chemicals company ChemChina, the little-known acquisition pioneer that won the affection of private equity firm Blackstone, is looking for yet more strategic investment as it scouts for more overseas assets, its chief executive said on Friday.

Daiwa Securities Group could pay around $2 billion to exit an investment banking joint venture with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, sources said, triggering a further shake-up of Japan's banking industry.

Gold eased below $990 an ounce on Friday after a two-day rally that took the market to within a whisker of $1,000, as an uptick in the dollar index after U.S. non-farm payrolls data prompted some traders to cash in gains.