MARKETS / FINANCE

Wall Street strategists are bullish about the market's prospects in 2011, expecting stocks to rise an average of 10 percent, with big-cap shares like Exxon Mobil Corp , Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Pfizer Inc leading the way, Barron's reported on Sunday.

U.S. private employers have recorded 11 consecutive months of job gains, yet the number of people who are so discouraged that they have given up searching for work stands at an all-time high.

Swiss government plans for tougher capital standards for big Swiss banks would help reduce the chance of another crisis, the Swiss central banks' vice chairman wrote on Sunday in a newspaper.

A bout of profit taking seems likely early in the new year after the S&P 500 ended its best December in almost two decades, but stocks may have further to run at the start of 2011.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed again to step up efforts to keep consumer inflation in check in 2011, state media reported on Sunday.

Korea Asset Management Corporation will buy about 5 trillion won ($4.38 billion) worth of bad loans from financial institutions and assets from companies under restructuring this year, local media said on Sunday.

Nunavut Iron hiked its bid for Baffinland Iron Mines late on Friday, refusing to back down in a fight with steel giant ArcelorMittal for control of the junior miner and its vast undeveloped iron ore deposit in Canada's Arctic.

A bout of profit taking seems likely early next year after the S&P 500 ended its best December in almost two decades, but stocks may have further to run at the start of 2011.

China's factory inflation cooled in December as manufacturers expanded more slowly after a strong run in growth, lessening the need for the country's central bank to tighten monetary policy too far.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday he would fight to shield the euro as the currency's members struggle with a debt crisis and vowed to fulfill France's commitments to improve its own finances.

The popular Internet telephone service Skype could be dealt a major setback in one of the world's largest markets as the Chinese government cracks down on what it called illegal Internet telephone providers.

- Wireless pioneer Craig McCaw has resigned as chairman of Clearwire Corp days ahead of a deadline on critical financial decision by its majority shareholder, Sprint Nextel.

Money flows to global equity and other stock funds accelerated during the fourth quarter, signaling a possible twist in 2011 from the record investments made in bond portfolios over the last year, according to a report published by EPFR Global on Friday.

U.S. stocks closed out a year of double-digit gains and the S&P's best December since 1991 with a quiet and little changed session on Friday as investors found no reason to make big bets ahead of the new year.

The race to the top of the global mergers and acquisitions league table looks set to end with Goldman Sachs retaking the honours from the rival which derailed its nine-year grip on the ranking last year.

Oil prices hit a 26-month high over $92 a barrel on Friday, closing the year up 15 percent on expectations that the economic recovery will drive demand growth next year and send prices into triple digits.

Hedge funds often claim to offer strong returns that are not correlated with broader markets, but in 2010 many failed on both of those counts.

U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday, the final day of the year, as investors were reluctant to make big bets after a rally that put the S&P on track for its best December performance in nearly two decades.

The euro currency area has only a one-in-five chance of surviving in its current form over the next 10 years because of competitive imbalances between its members, a leading British think tank said on Friday.

CVS Caremark, No. 2 U.S. drugstore chain, agreed to buy Universal American's Medicare prescription drug business for about $1.25 billion to expand in a growing segment of the pharmacy benefit market.

Nunavut Iron Ore is considering how to react after No. 1 steelmaker ArcelorMittal on Friday matched the private equity-backed company's takeover bid for Baffinland Iron Mines , a junior miner sitting on a giant iron ore deposit in the Canadian Arctic.

The pace of expansion in the manufacturing and service sectors quickened modestly in December, two upcoming surveys are expected to show, further evidence of an economy that is mending gradually.

Oil was set to close the year up more than 12 percent, despite a slight decline on Friday, due to a resurgence in global demand, an unusually cold winter and falling inventories.

Drugstore chain CVS Caremark agreed to buy Universal American's Medicare prescription drug business for about $1.25 billion.

U.S. stocks edged lower on Friday, the final trading day of the year, as investors took profits after a recent rally that has the S&P on track for its best December performance in nearly two decades.

Greece is in talks with commercial banks on extending the repayment of its outstanding debt, in line with a similar plan to stretch out paying back its EU/IMF bailout, an Athens weekly reported on Friday.

U.S. stocks were set for a lower open on Friday as investors appeared poised to grab profits after a recent rally that has the S&P on track for its best December performance in nearly two decades.

U.S. stock index futures drifted lower on Friday as investors appeared poised to grab profits after a recent rally that has the S&P on track for its best December performance in nearly two decades.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday, the last trading day of the year, with the S&P on track for a yearly advance of nearly 13 percent and its best December performance in nearly two decades.