INVESTMENT

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Friday, extending losses from the previous session, as investors became concerned about the inflationary effects of the Federal Reserve's move to buy long-term Treasuries.

Bank of America Corp was involved in accounting for fourth-quarter writedowns at Merrill Lynch & Co before it acquired the brokerage firm, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

As they struggle to close ballooning budget deficits amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, many U.S. state and local governments will be tempted to follow the example of Chicago.

UBS, one of the world’s leading financial firms, said Thursday that it is offering to buy back up to 1 billion euros ($1.30 billion) of its outstanding bonds to bolster up the bank’s Tier 1 capital ratio, using the available cash.

By Matt Daily and Walden Siew

Stocks headed for a higher open on Thursday as resurgent oil prices lifted energy shares and sentiment was underpinned by optimism about the Federal Reserve's push to lower borrowing costs.

Investments of $750 billion could create a Green New Deal to revive the world economy and protect the environment, perhaps aided by a tax on oil, the head of the U.N. environment agency said on Thursday.

Citigroup Inc on Thursday said it may conduct a reverse stock split as part of an exchange offer that could give the U.S. government a 36 percent stake in the bank.

Stock futures signaled Wall Street would rise at the open on Thursday as rising oil prices boosted energy shares and sentiment was underpinned by optimism about the Federal Reserve's bid to lower borrowing costs.

USJ Co Ltd, the operator of a struggling Universal Studios theme park in Japan, said on Thursday it was being sold for $1.2 billion to a consortium led by Goldman Sachs.

Citigroup Inc and Morgan Stanley will in the next few weeks announce plans to authorize or repurpose shares so they can have enough stock to compensate employees, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Option volume in Citigroup on Wednesday skyrocketed, as the bank's calls became more popular than the S&P 500 SPDR SPY.P exchange-traded fund, typically a top favorite among the options crowd.

JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon received about $19.7 million in total compensation for 2008, down from about $34 million in 2007, the company revealed in materials filed with U.S. regulators ahead of its annual shareholder meeting.

Shares of Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc powered to multiweek highs on Wednesday on optimism over government efforts to stimulate lending.

Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc shares have roughly tripled from the multi-decade lows of less than a month ago and powered higher on Wednesday on optimism government efforts to stimulate lending might boost stocks after punishing recent declines.

A record 778 hedge funds liquidated during the fourth quarter, capping a year that saw financial markets melt down and investors yank $150 billion of their money at the end of 2008, Hedge Fund Research Inc said on Wednesday.

Bank of America Corp Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said the largest U.S. bank could repay the $45 billion of government capital it has taken by late 2009 or early 2010, depending on the economy, according to an interview published in the Charlotte Observer.

Merrill Lynch & Co has taken full control of its Indian unit DSP Merrill Lynch after Hemendra Kothari, the subsidiary's founder and chairman, said he had sold his 10 percent stake to the firm ahead of his retirement.

Boutique investment firms and top hedge funds are slowly lapping up the cream of global banking talent as the financial crisis forces banks to cut staff and limit the pay of their top risk-takers.

Some of the billions of dollars the U.S. government paid to bail out American International Group Inc stand to benefit hedge funds that bet on a falling housing market, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter and reviewed documents.

The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has asked for records on the $3.62 billion of year-end bonuses at Merrill Lynch, to see if the panel was misled about the payments, the Wall Street Journal said.