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Stock index futures pointed down about 1 percent on Monday after three weeks of gains, and markets awaited government word about the repayment of bank bailout money this week.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 1 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.9 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 1.1 percent.

Barclays Plc is in talks to sell Barclays Global Investors , the British bank said on Monday, with U.S. fund manager BlackRock the frontrunner to land the asset manager for about $12 billion.

BlackRock Inc is trying to clinch a deal for a Barclays unit, but Bank of New York Mellon could step in with an offer for Barclays Global Investors if the talks drag on, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Singapore state investor Temasek sold its stake in British bank Barclays Plc several months ago at a big loss, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Improving markets and a need to recoup 2008 losses will prompt investors to pour $50 billion into hedge funds this year and slow redemptions, Barclays Capital said in a report on Tuesday.

Abu Dhabi sold an 11 percent stake in Barclays on Tuesday, making $2.5 billion from an investment that helped the British bank through the financial crisis and raising fears that the rally in bank shares may be over.

Abu Dhabi on Tuesday sold about 3.5 billion pounds ($5.7 billion) of shares in UK bank Barclays , traders said, to reap a near 1.5 billion pound profit in just seven months.

Bank of America Corp's corporate and investment banking unit has hired Ethan Harris as head of North America economics and David Bianco as head of U.S. equity strategy, two of the highest-profile appointments since the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.

The dollar fell to a five-month low against a basket of currencies on Friday and the yen also dropped as signs the global recession may have passed its worst prompted investors to seek riskier assets.

British bank Barclays has sidelined private equity houses bidding for iShares, its exchange-traded fund unit, and is looking to sell its entire asset management arm instead if offers approach $12 billion.

Hedge fund and traditional money management firms hard hit by last year's market meltdown are poised for a surge of mergers and acquisitions to bolster depleted assets and widen sources of revenue.

A trio of top European banks showed bad debts are ratcheting up as economies worsen and unemployment rises, although investor optimism ahead of U.S. bank stress test results drove shares to year highs.

British bank Barclays Plc said first-quarter profit rose 15 percent as strong growth at its investment banking arm made up for a big jump in bad debts as economies worsen, sending its shares to a seven-month high.

Barclays Plc said its first quarter profit rose 15 percent from a year ago as strong growth at its investment bank arm made up for a big jump in bad debts.

U.S. telecoms carrier AT&T Inc has set the size of a planned two-part bond at 1.85 billion pounds ($2.7 billion), IFR reported on Friday.

Barclays Plc has agreed to sell its iShares asset management business to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for 3 billion pounds ($4.4 billion), but kept the right to hunt for a better deal for two months.

Private equity house CVC Partners will pick up a rare commodity if it pulls off a purchase of Barclays' iShares exchange traded fund (ETF) unit, which analysts say has strong growth potential.

A pending asset sale and a clean bill of health from its financial regulator has calmed fears Barclays will need to raise cash, and backed up the bank's pledge to emerge as a victor from the financial crisis.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Japan's third-largest bank, said it expects a full-year net loss of $3.9 billion and will sell shares to raise up to $8 billion, after being hit by losses on stock holdings and a deepening recession.

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is buying iShares asset management business from Barclays for 3 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) in a deal that will be 70 percent funded by the British bank.

A banking analyst at Oppenheimer & Co said that when big banks proclaim that they are performing well, they better be right.

Barclays is in exclusive talks to sell its iShares asset management unit to CVC Partners for about 3 billion pounds ($4.3 billion), a person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

In a dry quarter for deals, two massive pharmaceutical transactions helped catapult Morgan Stanley to the top of the league in global adviser rankings, bringing it up from the tenth spot a year earlier.

Barclays is in talks with Goldman Sachs about a sale of the British bank's iShares unit, a source familiar with the situation said, adding one more name to a growing list of possible bidders.

Private equity groups Hellman & Friedman, Bain Capital and TPG have each shown interest in the iShares unit from British bank Barclays , sources familiar with the situation said.

British bank Barclays PLC is offering to finance the purchase of its iShares fund unit, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources.

On March 18, London stocks lowered following the announcement that unemployment has risen above the two million mark for the first time in over 10 years.

U.S. bank stocks, which had their best week on record last week, powered higher amid optimism they can soon return to profitability, only to give back their gains after American Express Co said more credit card customers are missing payments.