MARKETS / FINANCE

The trustee seeking money for victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud reached a more than $1 billion settlement with Tremont Group Holdings Inc, one of the largest feeders of customer funds into the Ponzi scheme.

The Senate's antitrust panel has scheduled its hearing on Google Inc's use of its considerable market clout for mid-September, the Senate Judiciary Committee said in a brief statement on Thursday.

Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti laughed off rumors that he was about to resign on Thursday but faced growing pressure over his links to a former advisor who is under investigation for corruption.

Banking group HSBC Holdings Plc <0005.HK> may cut more than 10,000 jobs as part of its plan to slash costs by up to $3.5 billion a year, Sky News reported Thursday.

Italy's borrowing costs soared at a closely-watched bond auction on Thursday as investors worried by the euro zone debt crisis and an impasse over the U.S. debt ceiling exacted a high risk premium.

Talk about spinning wheels, Congressional Democrats and Republicans, incredibly, made no progress Thursday toward raising the debt ceiling, even as a U.S. default nears on Tuesday.

A U.S. deficit reduction plan that promises $4 trillion in savings over time would be a good downpayment on getting the country's strained public finances under control, said John Chambers, chairman of S&P's sovereign ratings committee.

Wall Street gained momentum on Thursday, with the Nasdaq up about 1 percent before a key vote in Congress on a plan to prevent a U.S. default.

The number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits hit a three-month low last week and contracts to buy existing homes rose in June, hopeful signs for an economy that has struggled to regain momentum.

Oracle Corp is buying a tiny maker of software used in customer service call centers as it looks to bolster its offerings that compete with Salesforce.com Inc .

Nokia Siemens Networks said it will still build a core network for telecom start-up LightSquared, despite speculation their deal will be called off after a new pact between LightSquared and U.S. carrier Sprint Nextel .

At least three private equity firms are planning to bid for a clutch of GlaxoSmithKline's non-prescription products, expecting limited competition from rival large pharma groups, people familiar with the process said.

New claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, dropping below the key 400,000 level for the first time since early April, according to a government report on Thursday that pointed to some labor market improvement.

Wall Street advanced on Thursday, boosted by an unexpected rise in pending U.S. home sales and a dip in jobless claims, but trading was volatile as investors awaited a key vote in Congress on a plan to prevent a U.S. default.

Thomson Reuters Corp reported better-than-expected operating margins and reassured investors that it was coming to grips with its problems after last week's management shakeout.

Volkswagen predicted a significant rise in operating profits this year driven by strong demand around the world for its Audi and VW cars.

Lawmakers are eyeing a popular tax deduction for mortgage interest as they look for ways to fill record budget deficits, although any changes are likely to await a broad reworking of the tax code.

The number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits hit a three-month low last week and contracts to buy existing homes rose in June, hopeful signs for the economy which has struggled to regain momentum.

Stocks rose on Thursday as better-than-expected data on home sales and employment lent support to the market after equities suffered their worst day in eight weeks in the previous session.

Pending sales of existing U.S. homes unexpectedly rose in June from May and rose sharply from a year ago, data from a real estate trade group showed on Thursday.

Tens of thousands of European bankers are losing their jobs in a deep trading slump that has been compounded by regulatory curbs on excessive risk -- and many more will be out of work before Christmas.

Swiss bank Credit Suisse is cutting about 2,000 jobs after weak trading activity and the strong Swiss franc hit second-quarter results.

Thomson Reuters Corp reported sluggish growth in its Markets division, as the company struggles to accelerate adoption of its new Eikon flagship desktop for financial professionals.

U.S. initial jobless claims fell last week by 24,000, to a 3-month low of 398,000, according to the Labor Department.

Chief executives from the nation's largest financial firms on Thursday pressured the White House and Congress to reach a deal on the debt ceiling and deficit reduction, saying the consequences of inaction would be very grave.

The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits last week dropped below the 400,000 level for the first time since early April, a hopeful sign for the economy which has struggled to regain momentum.

Alibaba Group launched its first self-developed mobile operating system and smartphone on Thursday in a bid to capture a slice of China's rapidly growing mobile Internet market.

There's no way to sugarcoat it: financial markets have started to react to the possibility that the U.S. Government might default. Democrats and Republicans in Washington appear to be no closer to a debt deal Thursday than they were last week -- and a damaging default is now staring the nation -- and global markets -- in the face.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after Wall Street suffered its worst day in eight weeks, but the session was predicted to be volatile ahead of a key vote later in the day on a bill to cut the U.S. deficit.