INVESTMENT

Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Looking to fortify its equity trading business in Europe, has hired Richard Evans, a former top trader with Citigroup Inc (C.N), as head of strategy in the region, the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday.

What goes up eventually comes down, even in stock markets. Still, it can take a long time, much to the chagrin of those looking for a buying opportunity.

Hedge fund manager John Paulson, who bet against financial companies after foreseeing the credit crisis, has been buying Citigroup Inc shares over the past few weeks, the New York Post reported, citing sources.

U.S. banking regulators partially retreated from a much-criticized proposal to impose new rules on private equity investment in troubled banks, aiming to encourage responsible investment in distressed banks.

Two Sunbelt banks filed for initial public offerings on Wednesday to raise money that would be used in part to pay off money owed to the U.S. Treasury, setting the stage for the first U.S. IPOs by banks in more than two years.

Robert McCann, former head of Merrill Lynch's wealth management unit, is in talks to settle a suit he filed August 24 against Bank of America Corp seeking to lift a noncompete clause, allowing him to join a chief rival, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said.

U.S. banking regulators voted on Wednesday to ease rules applying to private investments in troubled banks.

Robert McCann, former head of Merrill Lynch's wealth management unit, is in talks to settle a suit he filed Aug. 24 against Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) seeking to lift a noncompete clause, allowing him to join a chief rival, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said.

General Electric has put its security business up for sale in an auction that could fetch about $2 billion, sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks seesawed on Wednesday despite strong data on new home sales and durable goods orders as investors paused after a recent sharp run-up.

U.S. regulators are likely to back down from the tough stance they took a month ago on rules for auctions of troubled banks, which could clear the way for more private equity bidders to come back into the game.

British private equity firm Terra Firma said it has bought Everpower Wind Holdings in a deal that a source said was worth around $350 million, looking to tap into the growing renewable energy sector.

South Africa's largest property and casualty insurer Santam Ltd expects underwriting margins to remain under pressure in the second half after a rise in high-value property fire claims hit first-half returns.

India's Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN hope to finalize by mid-September a deal that could lead to a full merger, with the Indian firm adding another adviser and getting closer to lining up loans, three sources said.

Hedge funds and bank trading desks are hiring again after the downturn and have already snapped up some of the most talented managers dislodged while firms struggled in the credit crisis, industry insiders said.

Stock index futures were mostly lower on Wednesday ahead of durable goods and new home sales data and one day after upbeat consumer and housing indicators helped lift shares to 2009 highs.

Wall Street was set to open little changed on Wednesday after data for new orders of long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods recorded their biggest gain in two years in July, but rose less than forecast, excluding transportation.

A federal judge ordered Bank of America to explain why it agreed to pay $33 million to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit if it believed it properly disclosed bonuses it authorized for Merrill Lynch & Co employees.

A multi-faceted indicator designed to give support/resistance levels, trend direction, and entry/exit points of varying strengths. General theory behind this indicator states that if price action is above the cloud, the overall trend is bullish, and if below the cloud, the overall trend is bearish. There are also moving averages (the Tenkan and Kijun lines) which act like the MACD crossover signals with the Tenkan crossing from underneath the Kijun as a bullish signal, while crossing overhead gi...

(Corrects word in paragraph 2 to 'settlement' from 'statement')

Some investors are shrugging their shoulders at reports that Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) gives special trading advice and early access to analyst research to a select few clients, saying the practice is commonplace in the industry.