MARKETS / FINANCE

More consumers had trouble making payments on credit cards and other debts during the first three months of the year due to higher food and gas prices, an industry report said on Thursday.

Wall Street was set to edge up on Thursday, with a key index at its highest in seven weeks, as investors await labor market data giving indications of the recovery in the U.S. economy.

Facebook will add Skype video chat to its pages, aiming to spice up the appeal of the world's No. 1 Internet social networking service while fending off increased competition from Google.

Profit at Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of memory chips and televisions, fell by a quarter as weak earnings at its flat screen unit dragged, underlying the conglomerate's struggle to return to last year's record profit.

Samsung Galaxy S2 has sold nearly 3 million units in a span of 55 days.

Despite recent market volatility and unfavorable labor statistics, second quarter employee confidence over job security, pay raises and the job market has returned to levels last seen in the height of the recession.

The euro steadied on Thursday with a widely expected rate hike from the European Central Bank later being offset by a spreading sovereign debt crisis, while China's bank stocks bounced on hopes of a near-term pause in policy tightening.

China's bank stocks bounced on Thursday on hopes of a near-term pause in policy tightening, keeping regional shares close to a one-month high, while the euro steadied before a widely expected rate hike from the European Central Bank later.

Profit at Samsung Electronics <005930.KS>, the world's largest maker of memory chips and televisions, fell by a quarter as weak earnings at its flat screen unit dragged, underlying the conglomerate's struggle to return to last year's record profit.

Japan's core machinery orders rose in May at the fastest pace in four months in a sign that capital expenditures will stay firm and support the economic recovery as the country rebuilds from a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp sued former IndyMac Bank Chief Executive Michael Perry to recover over $600 million in damages and costs related to residential loans made by the lender, according to court documents.

The European Central Bank is almost certain to raise interest rates later on Thursday and will show no let-up in its insistence that governments solve Greece's debt crisis without triggering a default credit rating.

The New York Stock Exchange, an icon of American capitalism, is expected to take a crucial step toward ceding control to a German company on Thursday, with little opposition expected from investors.

Tokyo, July 7 - Suzuki Motor Corp <7269.T> plans to spend 40 billion yen ($494 million) to relocate several coastal facilities further inland to avoid damage from possible tsunamis, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.

A downgrade of Portugal's credit rating to junk status underlines how the Greek crisis is poisoning other weak countries in the euro zone, regardless of their own efforts to shrink their debt and return to growth.

Bank of America Corp lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of reneging on promises to help borrowers modify their mortgage loans under a much-criticized federal program.

Brokerage Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, a joint venture between Morgan Stanley and Citigroup , said personal information of 34,000 investment clients stored on two CDs was lost in transit to a government office last month, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a company spokesman.

Rupert Murdoch promised full cooperation on Wednesday to resolve a scandal shaking his media empire after British Prime Minister David Cameron promised an inquiry into what he called disgusting phone hacking by a newspaper.

Lender Processing Services Inc said its Chief Executive Jeffrey Carbiener resigned due to medical reasons, adding uncertainty at a time when the company is facing various legal and regulatory challenges.

Visa Inc , the world's largest card processing network, said revenue growth will slow next year as a result of a U.S. regulatory crackdown on debit card processing fees.

Visa Inc , the world's largest card processing network, said revenue growth will slow next year as a result of a U.S. regulatory crackdown on debit card processing fees.

Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and European banks RBS and UBS were the biggest beneficiaries of very short-term Federal Reserve loans extended at the height of the financial crisis, according to data released on Wednesday.

European politicians accused credit rating agencies on Wednesday of anti-European bias after Moody's downgrade of Portugal's debt to junk cast new doubt on EU efforts to rescue distressed euro zone states without debt restructuring.

Blackstone Group latest private equity fund is now sized at $16 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter on Wednesday, making it one of the largest buyout funds raised in history.

An arbitration panel ordered a Merrill Lynch clearing unit to pay $63.7 million in damages to California hedge fund manager Rosen Capital Partners LP as compensation for losses during the 2008 financial crisis.

Transportation stocks were among the standouts in another flat session for U.S. equities on Wednesday, and the sector's rally could be cause for optimism ahead.

A FINRA securities industry arbitration panel ordered a former Morgan Stanley Smith Barney broker to pay the firm nearly $1 million for breaching the terms of a promissory note.

U.S. stocks were mostly flat on Wednesday as strength in transportation names helped offset a downgrade of Portugal's credit rating, which pressured banking shares.

Slow economic growth, skittish trading clients and regulatory worries that just won't go away -- the second quarter has been a punishing one for Wall Street's top investment banks and their shareholders.