INVESTMENT

The retail sector is in contraction, fueled by the recession, mounting job losses and a sharp drop in consumer spending. Retail businesses are scaling back operations, closing stores and trimming demand for space.

French investment manager Meeschaert said on Saturday it had applied for the seizure of a yacht owned by a Bernard Madoff company as part of a battle to claw back client losses from the jailed fraudster.

In 2008, 70 percent of home buyers indicated that they purchased a home to use as their primary residence, an increase from 67 percent in 2007 and up significantly from 60 percent in 2005.

The purchase of a vacation home or a residential investment property is influenced by many factors that are often different than the motivations for the purchase of a primary residence. Especially during a period of weak home sales and considerable uncertainty about the economy, it is important to gauge how the economic environment is affecting each segment.

Fabrizio Gallo, Morgan Stanley's global head of equities, is leaving the Wall Street firm, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Switzerland will start negotiations with the United States over its existing double-taxation treaty at the end of April, the Swiss ambassador to the United States told Swiss television late on Friday.

Several major banks face exposure to automaker Chrysler LLC, which may need to file for bankruptcy if it doesn’t come through with a plan that will convince the U.S. government to lend it additional funds to stay afloat.

U.S. banks that received billions of dollars of taxpayer money to bolster their capital could place bets on the same toxic assets that got them into trouble in the first place -- and with government support.

Chrysler LLC's lenders are in talks with the U.S. government to reduce the automaker's debt by swapping some of it out for equity, new debt or a lesser amount in cash, sources familiar with the talks said on Friday.

Chrysler LLC's lenders are in talks with the U.S. government to reduce the automaker's debt by swapping some of it out for equity, new debt or a lesser amount in cash, sources familiar with the talks said on Friday.

Texas Instruments Inc has sued Citigroup Inc , Morgan Stanley and Bank of New York Mellon Corp , accusing the banks of misleading the chipmaker into buying $524 million of auction-rate securities that have become illiquid.

Capital One Financial Corps rating was downgraded on Friday.

Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, is in New York on Friday to meet with hedge funds, private equity funds and pension groups to promote the government's plan to cleanse banks' balance sheets of toxic assets, a source familiar with the meeting said on Friday.

Switzerland's National Bank said Friday that UBS has completed its final installment of toxic assets to a specially-created investment fund of $38.7 billion.

U.S. banks that have received government aid, including Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co, are considering buying toxic assets to be sold by rivals under the Treasury's $1,000 billion plan to revive the financial system, the Financial Times said.

The Dow and S&P 500 stock indexes were set to open flat on Friday as data showed the labor market deteriorating further while the unemployment rate hit its highest since 1983, underscoring the severity of the recession.

Stock futures lost ground on Friday as a brief boost that followed the March non-farm payrolls report faded.

Stock futures added to gains on Friday after data showed employers continued to slash jobs, pushing the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent, although the numbers were not as dire as some in the market had feared.

Stock futures pointed to a higher open on Friday on growing hopes that data pointing to an easing of the deep recession will prove to be lasting, despite what could be another dismal U.S. jobs report.

U.S. banks that have received government aid, including Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co, are considering buying toxic assets to be sold by rivals under the Treasury's $1,000 billion plan to revive the financial system, the Financial Times said.

Stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Friday, as investors were poised to book a portion of their recent hefty gains ahead of key U.S. monthly jobs data.