MARKETS / FINANCE

George Scangos, the chief executive of Biogen Idec Inc , is uncomfortable in the well-appointed office he inherited when he took the top job last July.

China stormed back to post a hefty trade surplus in April as exports hit a record while imports eased more than expected, weighed down by sustained monetary tightening and high commodity prices.

Microsoft has landed a juicy deal as it snatched Skype from the jaws of Google and Facebook in an $8.5 billion deal.

Spot Gold prices rose for the second day running in London on Tuesday, reclaiming half of last week's 7% drop from the all-time Dollar high as world stock markets rallied again with commodity prices.

U.S. import prices rose at a slower pace in April as petroleum and food cost increases moderated, supporting views the recent jump in commodity prices was likely to be transitory.

U.S. rules on the trading of private securities will be the subject of a hearing on Tuesday by lawmakers concerned that the regulations may be stifling the formation of capital.

U.S. import prices rose at a slower pace in April as petroleum and food cost increases moderated, a government report showed on Tuesday, supporting views the recent jump in commodity prices was likely to be transitory.

Japan's government said on Tuesday it would not set an initial limit on Tokyo Electric Power's liability for damages caused by its leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and said the utility must tighten its belt further.

The trustee in charge of liquidating what's left of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's U.S. brokerage told a judge on Monday that Barclays Plc should return $2.1 billion it received when it bought Lehman's North American arm.

A Greek debt restructuring would have dire consequences, ECB policymakers warned, with one suggesting the bank would be unlikely to help the euro zone recover from the shock by delaying interest rate hikes.

U.S. stocks were set to rise at the open on Tuesday after strong Chinese trade data eased concerns of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy and pointed to strong global demand.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday as strong Chinese trade data eased concerns of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy and pointed to strong global demand.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday as strong Chinese trade data eased concerns of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy and pointed to strong global demand.

The head of Tokyo Electric Power Co asked the government on Tuesday to help shoulder the burden of compensating residents displaced by the crisis at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, a bill that is expected to run into tens of billions of dollars.

Deutsche Post DHL posted consensus-beating quarterly earnings and affirmed its 2011 outlook as demand from Asia boosted profits at its express delivery business.

Greece denied on Tuesday a Dow Jones report that it expects a new aid package of nearly 60 billion euros ($85.71 billion) to deal with its debt crisis.

China stormed back to post a hefty trade surplus in April as exports hit a record while imports eased more than expected, weighed down by sustained monetary tightening and high commodity prices.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.2 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.1 percent at 0818 GMT.

Deutsche Post DHL's earnings beat estimates in the first quarter as demand from Asia boosted profits at its express delivery business.

Microsoft Corp is close to buying Web video conferencing service Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion including debt, a source familiar with the situation said, underscoring the technology giant's growing ambition to plug a hole in its mobile offerings.

Microsoft Corp is close to buying web video conferencing service Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion including debt, a source familiar with the situation said, in a deal which would rank as the biggest for the software company.

China posted its biggest trade surplus in four months in April, swinging from a trade deficit in the first quarter, as senior Chinese and U.S. officials sought to resolve disputes over trade and other policy differences.

Sheila Bair, a free market advocate who helped oversee the most dramatic bailout of the financial system since the Great Depression, will leave the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp on July 8, the agency announced on Monday.

NEW YORK - Activision Blizzard posted higher profit and revenue in the fourth quarter, driven by sales of online games, and raised its full-year earnings outlook, sending its shares higher in after-hours trade.

The jury in the closely watched insider trading trial of hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam reheard on Monday a dozen FBI phone taps centered on one transaction in the charges against the Galleon Group founder.

Bank of America Corp plans to reduce its $850 billion portfolio of troubled home loans by about half over the next three years, the bank's new mortgage unit head told the Financial Times.

LinkedIn Corp has priced its closely watched initial public offering at a bargain compared to rivals such as Renren Inc and Facebook, underscoring growing caution over social media valuations.

The trustee seeking money for Bernard Madoff's victims announced a $1 billion settlement with liquidators for three feeder funds tied to Fairfield Greenwich Group, allowing higher payouts to the swindler's former customers.

Citigroup discovered on Monday that reverse splits can be a somewhat painful exercise.