MARKETS / FINANCE

The London Stock Exchange faced a takeover battle on Thursday with the Maple Group over Canada's TMX Group , the outcome of which may well decide whether it becomes takeover target itself.

Leaders of the Group of Eight began gathering in France on Thursday to endorse aid to new Arab democracies, but wrangling among Western and developing economies over who runs the IMF may take up much of their time.

Asian stocks were on course for their biggest gain in a month on Thursday, led by resources and consumer sectors, with recovering commodity prices and the euro's rebound toward $1.42 bringing investors back into the markets in search of bargains.

Sales of distressed U.S. homes fell in the first quarter as demand remained weak, but they still made up about 28 percent of total sales, the highest amount in a year, a RealtyTrac report said on Thursday.

Influential hedge fund manager David Einhorn called on Microsoft's Chief Executive Steve Ballmer to step down, while famed short-seller Jim Chanos threw cold water on alternative energy companies during the annual Ira Sohn Investment Research Conference on Wednesday.

Shares of American International Group Inc fell 4 percent on Wednesday as investors recognized that the U.S. government's exit from the insurer could take a long time.

Leaders of the Group of Eight gather in France Thursday to endorse aid to new Arab democracies, but wrangling among Western and developing economies over running the IMF may take up much of their time.

Activist investor Pardus Capital Management called on Clearwire Corp to resume efforts to sell wireless airwaves in order to strengthen its hand in negotiations with majority owner Sprint Nextel.

Corporate whistleblowers could score multi-million-dollar payouts for reporting financial wrongdoing under a new program approved by securities regulators on Wednesday.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc expects quick approval of its bankruptcy plan, which would turn over the second-largest U.S. tax preparer to lenders led by Bayside Capital, the company's attorney said on Wednesday.

Yahoo Inc said it had made significant progress with Alibaba Group on issues such as compensation for the Chinese company's transfer of a valuable Internet asset to an external owner.

U.S. stocks ended a three-day losing streak on Wednesday as recent underperformers led a thinly traded rally that wasn't seen as strong enough to overcome worries about waning global demand.

Wall Street banks clamor to underwrite stock for social media companies like LinkedIn and Twitter, but the online networking sites are largely off limits to the banks' financial advisers.

Yahoo Inc and Alibaba Group have made significant progress in resolving a complex dispute over the Chinese company's transfer of a valuable Internet asset to an external owner.

Corporate whistleblowers could score multi-million-dollar payouts for reporting financial wrongdoing under a new program approved by securities regulators on Wednesday.

Regulators launched one of the biggest ever crackdowns on oil price manipulation on Tuesday, suing two well-known traders and two trading firms owned by Norwegian billionaire John Fredriksen for allegedly making $50 million by squeezing markets in 2008.

A divided U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a new program that would compensate whistleblowers whose tips lead to sanctions of over $1 million.

Lawyers for hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam asked a judge on Wednesday to throw out the Galleon Group founder's conviction on insider trading charges.

Global economic recovery is on track, helped by a stronger United States, but threats ranging from high oil prices to European sovereign debt crises could yet combine to create a bout of stagflation, the OECD said on Wednesday.

Twitter confirmed on Wednesday that it has bought TweetDeck, a popular third-party software application that organizes tweets, the short messages delivered through the online social network.

U.S. stocks rose modestly on Wednesday after days of selling produced a technical rebound and investors were lured by attractive share prices.

Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co have teamed up to create a joint venture for online banking services.

Wall Street banks clamor to underwrite stock for social media companies like LinkedIn and Twitter, but the online networking sites are largely off limits to the banks' financial advisers.

New orders for U.S. manufactured goods posted their largest drop in six months in April after a steep fall in demand for transportation equipment, suggesting some cooling in factory activity.

Stocks rose modestly on Wednesday after days of selling produced a technical rebound and investors were lured by attractive share prices.

Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom said Microsoft could capitalize on its $8.5 billion acquisition of the Internet calling service by expanding into mobile and improving video call quality.

Wall Street stocks were set for a lower open on Wednesday after weaker-than-expected manufacturing data added to evidence the U.S. economy's recovery was slowing.

LONDON, May 25 - European banks remain saddled with almost 100 billion euros of Greek government debt they can't sell, hedge or ignore, after a number of recent deals to offload the exposure to reduce the impact of a possible default ended in failure, according to bankers involved.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods recorded their largest decline in six months in April as aircraft and motor vehicle bookings tumbled, indicating the economy remained stuck in a soft patch.