UNITED STATES

Global markets were flat on Friday in subdued holiday weekend trading after growing hopes of a global economic recovery propelled shares over 11 percent in the previous month.

Removes reference to Bund futures in last paragraph as market closed for public holiday

Citigroup Inc executives are using the sale of its Japanese retail brokerage Nikko Cordial to ease demands from the U.S. stress tests on banks, arguing the sale of non-core assets such as Nikko would strengthen its balance sheet, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the matter.

U.S. automaker Chrysler has filed for bankruptcy and entered an industry-changing deal with Italy's Fiat , in the latest big government intervention in the economy to try to deal with the global crisis.

Japanese stocks struck a four-month closing high on Friday and higher-yielding currencies held gains as investors favored riskier assets, with improvements in Chinese manufacturing and South Korean exports adding to evidence of a global economy on the mend.

Electronic health records need a nudge from the government if the technology is to become widespread, the nation's new health information technology czar said on Thursday.

Switzerland urged a U.S. court on Thursday to reject demands by U.S. tax authorities for information about U.S. clients of UBS AG, saying disclosure would violate its sovereignty and international law.

Mexico's state owned oil and gas company Pemex maintains operations on its production, distribution, storage, offshore terminals and export facilities despite a federal government call to suspend all non essential economic activities to avoid the propagation of the swine flu virus.

Freddie Mac, the U.S. mortgage finance giant, on Thursday said it paid $1.3 million in retention bonuses to three executives in late 2008 and so far this year, including a full payout of the award promised to its acting chief financial officer before his shocking death, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Bank of America Corp's board is not planning to remove Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis after he was ousted as chairman under shareholder pressure, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Thursday.

UBS AG asked a U.S. court on Thursday not to proceed with a high-profile tax evasion case brought against it by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, saying the case would violate Switzerland's strict bank secrecy laws.

MBIA Inc , the world's largest bond insurer, sued Merrill Lynch & Co on Thursday seeking damages for losses from complex debt securities it insured for the bank.

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted on Thursday in favor of legislation to protect credit card users from hidden fees, sudden interest rate hikes and questionable billing practices.

Walt Disney Co will buy a 30 percent stake in Hulu.com, bringing popular TV shows such as Lost and Grey's Anatomy to the video website founded by NBC Universal and News Corp.

A bill restricting credit card practices and sudden hikes in interest rates and late fees that have left millions of consumers swamped in debt was passed by the House on Thursday.

Time magazine has released its annual Time 100 list which honors the most influential people in the world. Among the list, names like President Obama, Vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin, Twitter founders and even Wall Street mega-swindler Madoff appear.

The U.S. housing market is showing some early signs of a turnaround, but its too early to say if a full recovery is underway, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said on Wednesday.

The Dow and S&P 500 fell on Thursday after Chrysler's bankruptcy filing undercut optimism about upbeat corporate profits and reassuring job market data.

Booming demand for agriculture products helped chemical companies BASF and Dow Chemical Co record better than expected quarterly profits on Thursday.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment aid fell unexpectedly last week, suggesting the pace of layoffs was easing, even as benefit rolls in mid-April swelled to another record high.

The World Bank announced Thursday that a Bank staff member in Washington DC was preliminarily diagnosed with the Swine Flu on April 29.