INVESTMENT

Stock index futures added to losses on Wednesday after the chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores Inc said he still sees stress in the economy and no quick end to the recession.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wednesday ahead of the release of U.S. CPI data but disappointing quarterly reports from UBS and Intel Corp weighed on the market.

Credit Suisse plans to set up its second back office in India by September and hire 350 staff by 2010 as it aims to reduce costs, the Swiss bank said on Wednesday.

World stocks fell on Wednesday, stepping back from the previous session's three-month high, and the low-yielding yen firmed as news of job cuts at Swiss bank UBS and weak U.S. and Chinese data fanned economic concerns. UBS warned of a first-quarter loss of nearly 2 billion Swiss francs and said it would cut a further 8,700 jobs, weighing on other banking shares.

Adding to the spate of departures at Merrill Lynch, some senior bankers covering healthcare companies are leaving the bank, which was acquired by Bank of America Corp , to join a boutique investment bank in New York, the Wall Street Journal said.

Calpers, the biggest U.S. public pension fund, is seeking opportunities to buy assets of Citigroup and others tied to a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program in the United States, Bloomberg reported.

UBS made a first-quarter loss and will cut another 11 percent of staff, its new chief executive said on Wednesday, warning that Switzerland's largest bank still faces an uncertain future.

Meet the new Goldman Sachs, trying to be the same as the old Goldman Sachs.

On Tuesday hopes of the recession coming to an end were dashed sending U.S. stocks down after reports of the economy and banking sector.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold $5 billion of stock to help fulfill what it called its duty to repay a federal bailout, but the government worries a quick return of funds could pressure other banks to repay their aid prematurely.

Amid a growing push for energy efficient vehicles, Fortune magazine has hit the stands this week with a cover showcasing magnate Warren Buffett and a much expected all-electric E6 car which will hit the Chinese market later this year from manufacturer BYD, a company in which Buffett has a considerable stake.

Stocks fell on Tuesday as a surprising drop in retail sales dented hopes the recession was abating and financial shares slid on fears that Goldman Sachs' share offering could prompt others to follow suit.

A wealthy Florida yacht broker, caught up in a federal probe of UBS AG , pleaded guilty on Tuesday to using the Swiss bank to hide more than $3 million in assets from the U.S. government.

The influential chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Representative Barney Frank, on Tuesday welcomed Goldman Sachs Group Inc's plan to repay government bailout funds and said worries it could stigmatize other banks were silly.

Stocks fell on Tuesday as a surprising drop in retail sales dented hopes the recession was abating and financial shares slid on fears that Goldman Sachs' share offering could prompt others to follow suit.

Stocks fell on Tuesday as a surprising drop in retail sales dented hopes that the recession was abating and financial shares slid on fears that a stock offering by Goldman Sachs could prompt others to follow suit.

Several investment firms are being investigated over whether they made improper payments to intermediaries to gain business from New York state's pension fund, sources familiar with the investigation said on Tuesday.

Swiss banking giant UBS is likely to cut upwards of 10000 jobs as it succumbs to the global financial meltdown.

Chrysler LLC's first-lien lenders are preparing a counter-offer for the U.S. Treasury that might include equity in a Chrysler-Fiat alliance and some cash in exchange for abandoning their claim to some $7 billion in debt, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Stocks tumbled on Tuesday as an unexpected drop in March retail sales suggested that the economic slump was far from abating and as Goldman Sachs slid sharply after a stock offering.

Citigroup Inc shares surged to a three-month high on Tuesday on expectations of strong quarterly results, one day after Goldman Sachs Group Inc posted surprisingly strong earnings.