GLOBAL MARKETS

British credit information firm Experian said on Tuesday it was buying a 65 percent stake in Brazilian credit bureau Serasa for $1.2 billion to give it control of three of the top five credit bureaux worldwide.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. shares rose 5 percent on Monday after the media company hired an influential advertising executive from Yahoo Inc. for its media business.

U.S. stocks were little changed on Monday as a sharp drop in oil futures weighed on the energy sector but helped the broader market.

The yen rebounded against major currencies on Monday as some investors bet that its recent decline was too far, too fast.

Fears of rising borrowing costs hit global stocks on Monday with investors nervous about higher government interest rates and a blow-out in credit spreads.

Asian stock markets mostly fell on Monday following a steep slide on Wall Street, but investors bought some Japanese exporters such as Canon Inc. on the back of a downtrodden yen.

Shares of investment firm State Street fell after investors balked at the $4.5 billion price tag it paid for a smaller rival in February, but weakness in the shares now gives investors the chance get a piece of the firm when it is poised to benefit from expanding global securities markets, Barron's reported on Sunday.

A $12 billion debt sale announced by Home Depot on Tuesday would be the biggest test of demand for U.S. corporate bonds in four years but will likely find ample buyers, analysts said.

Iran sees no need to hold the U.S. currency, the country's central bank vice-governor said

It was Wall Street's version of hide and seek this week as some of the world's largest investment banks remained tight-lipped on the likely fall in price of some complex securities that may soon infect global debt and equity markets.

One of Wall Street's oldest maxims will be put to the test next week: markets don't hit bottom on a Friday.

Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. (NYSE: BSC) on Friday said it would provide up to $3.2 billion in financing for a struggling hedge fund it manages, raising concern about other funds that invested in bonds linked to subprime mortgages.

Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) units rose 13 percent in their first day of trading on Friday, as the first major U.S. private-equity firm went public and minted billions of dollars of new wealth for its founders.

Stocks tumbled on Friday, wrapping up their worst week since a global sell-off in February amid fears that trouble at two Bear Stearns hedge funds may signal worse problems lie ahead for credit markets.

U.S. Treasury debt prices rose on Friday, halting a two-day decline, as nervous investors dumped stocks and shifted into government bonds as fears of the subprime mortgage problems reverberated through financial markets.

Shares of Macy's Inc.rose as much as 10 percent on Friday and its options volume surged on speculation that the retailer, whose same-store sales have been disappointing in recent months, was ripe for a takeover.

Most major global equity indexes fell and safe-haven Treasuries rose on Friday as concerns lingered before the weekend that troubles in U.S. credit markets might spread.

Shares of AES Corp. rose on Friday after they received an upgrade to buy from hold from Citigroup, which said the power company's weak recent share performance and good outlook provide an entry point for investors.

The yen weakened further on Friday, hitting a record low versus the euro and a 4-1/2 year trough against the dollar as investors chased high return assets at the expense of the low-yielding Japanese currency.

Blackstone Group LP's (NYSE: BX) initial public offering raised billions of dollars for its employees, but the private equity firm's shares might have performed even better if it weren't for the potential tax headaches, analysts said on Friday.

A sustained push above 5 percent on the yield of the benchmark 10-year Treasury note could roil markets, deepen housing woes and slow the U.S. economy.

Blackstone Group LP, the largest private equity firm to go public, said on Thursday it raised $4.13 billion in an initial public offering priced at the top of a forecast range in the biggest U.S. IPO in five years.

News Corp.'s $5 billion bid for Dow Jones & Co. Inc. may have fueled a modest rally among newspaper stocks but it's unlikely to spark similar deals or push publishing sector takeover values higher, analysts say.

The dollar gained against the Swiss franc on Thursday and approached a four-and-a-half-year high against the yen as investors continued to punish low-yielding currencies in a quest for higher returns.

Stocks rebounded on Thursday after brokerage upgrades sent the semiconductor sector to a 13-month high and fresh data pointed to a growing economy.

Shares of graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) traded at an all time high on Thursday after the company gave an upbeat outlook for the near-term and it introduced a new high-end desktop product.

Private equity firm Blackstone Group's initial public offering was about seven times subscribed, boosted by demand from Asia, the Middle East and Europe, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

U.S. government debt prices were mixed on Thursday after data suggesting less tightness in the labor market offset downward pressure from worries over rising global interest rates.

Sterling rose on Wednesday, boosted by Bank of England meeting minutes that reflected a surprising bias for higher interest rates, while the euro and dollar climbed for the fifth day in six against the low-yielding yen.