MARKETS / FINANCE

Morgan Stanley plans to fire 200 to 300 poorly performing brokers and trainees, a person familiar with the plan said on Wednesday.

A corrupt man or a legitimate stock researcher?

A corrupt man or a legitimate stock researcher?

A weak outlook from Texas Instruments weighed on the Nasdaq on Wednesday and pushed an index of chip makers below a key technical level in a worrisome sign for the market's six-month uptrend.

The initial public offering of private equity-backed HCA, the biggest U.S. for-profit hospital chain, is well oversubscribed and could price above the planned range on Wednesday, sources familiar with the situation said.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, as a weak outlook from Texas Instruments weighed on the Nasdaq and pushed an index of chip makers below a key technical level in a worrisome sign for the market's six-month uptrend.

The bidding for all or parts of Warner Music Group is expected to run into April as second round bidders meet with the music company's management team as part of their due diligence process.

NYSE Euronext's planned assault this month on CME Group Inc's flagship U.S. rate futures franchise will be tough going because traders value liquidity, CME Chief Financial Officer Jamie Parisi said on Wednesday.

Wholesale inventories rose in January and sales set their fastest pace in 14 months, suggesting restocking and strong demand would give a lift to the economy in the first quarter.

Shares of International Business Machines Corp hit a lifetime high on Wednesday as analysts welcomed the tech giant's commitment to double its profit by 2015.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged lawmakers on Wednesday to approve capital increases for global lending institutions and warned that failure to do so could harm U.S. influence abroad.

A U.S. prosecutor told a jury that greed drove hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam to establish a corrupt network of people to trade on inside information and make millions in illegal profits, as the trial got under way in the biggest Wall Street insider trading case in a generation.

Massachusetts charged a small hedge fund manager on Wednesday with having illegally used clinical trials data provided by an expert network group to pump up his ailing portfolio's investment returns.

HCA, the biggest U.S. for-profit hospital chain, plans to go public on Wednesday, and the IPO is seeing strong demand even though private equity owners saddled the company with a massive amount of debt.

Russian flagship airline Aeroflot said on Wednesday it had signed a firm order to buy eight Boeing 777s , in line with earlier plans, partly to boost its fleet ahead of the Winter Olympics in 2014.

Wholesale inventories rose more than expected in January and sales set their fastest pace in 14 months, according to a government report on Wednesday that offered further signs of strengthening demand.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers for onetime hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam will clash in a high-stakes face-off in court on Wednesday when they make their cases to a jury in the biggest Wall Street insider trading case in a generation.

The Dow rebounded on Wednesday with a jump in IBM's stock on its 2015 outlook, but the Nasdaq fell as a weaker-than-expected earnings target from Texas Instruments weighed on the chip sector.

HCA, the biggest U.S. for-profit hospital chain, plans to go public on Wednesday, and analysts expect strong demand even though its private equity owners saddled it with a massive amount of debt.

Applications for home mortgages jumped to the highest level in three months last week, buoyed by improvements in the job market, an industry group said on Wednesday.

China should increase its gold reserves appropriately, and must take every chance to buy, especially when Gold Prices fall, said Li Yining, a senior economist at Peking University and an advisor to the national parliament's Political Consultative Committee, quoted today by Beijing's official Xinhua News Agency.

The biggest Wall Street insider trading criminal case in a generation goes to opening statements on Wednesday, when prosecutors and defense lawyers for Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam face off in court.

Portugal's two-year cost of borrowing hit the highest level since it joined the euro in a bond auction on Wednesday, and the government said yields were unsustainable in the long run without Europe-wide action.

The United States will lead a rich-world recovery characterized by unspectacular growth this year and next, according to a Reuters poll of economists who view oil prices as the biggest risk to that outlook.

Stocks fell on Wednesday as oil prices advanced on continued turmoil in Libya and as a bond auction in Portugal failed to ease concerns the country would need a bailout.

Stocks were poised for a lower open on Wednesday, with oil prices edging higher on continued turmoil in Libya, and as a bond auction in Portugal failed to ease concerns the country would need a bailout.

Stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday as oil prices held steady after an OPEC official said the group saw no need for a meeting to discuss raising output even as turmoil in Libya continued.

The biggest Wall Street insider trading criminal case in a generation goes to trial on Wednesday, when prosecutors open their case against Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam whose arrest 16 months ago shook the hedge fund world.

Public spending cuts forced by Congress would be a serious brake on U.S. economic growth, hitting jobs and demand, billionaire investor George Soros said on Wednesday.