MARKETS / FINANCE

Six bank holding companies repaid a total of $2.7 billion in federal bailout funds they received during the financial crisis, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

Bed Bath & Beyond reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as U.S. consumers spent more on their homes.

France wants all 16 euro zone governments and any other interested European Union members to coordinate their economic policy more closely in the future, Economy Minister Christine Lagarde told a German newspaper.

Internet phone and video service Skype went down in a global service outage on Wednesday, underscoring a weakness of the free online communication tool.

Internet phone and video service Skype went down in a global service outage on Wednesday, underscoring a weakness of the free online communication tool.

Sales of previously owned homes rose in November, offering the latest sign the economy was ending the year on a more solid footing after a sluggish third-quarter.

The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday to its highest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, led by bank stocks that have leapfrogged other sectors in December.

A lawsuit filed against Philip Falcone charges that the investor took advantage of his position in engineering a stock swap between his hedge fund and a small publicly traded company that he also controls.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in November, offering the latest sign the economy was ending the year on a more solid footing after a sluggish third-quarter performance.

(In Dec 17 item, corrects Michael Gault's attribution to Weiser Capital Management in paragraph 9)

JPMorgan took a hit in its equity capital markets business in 2010 even though its dominance in debt markets allowed it to cling on to the global top spot for investment banking fees.

Europe's confidence that it need not follow the United States in adopting rules to ensure fair Internet access may be short-lived, as competition between mobile operators and service providers like Skype intensifies.

A senior bullion logistics executive in Switzerland yesterday told BullionVault that shipments of Gold Bullion to China are running much higher – and have begun much earlier – to meet consumer demand for the Chinese New Year, which will start on 3rd Feb. 2011.

Activision Blizzard Inc _ wants to add archrival Electronic Arts Inc to a $400 million lawsuit related to its Call of Duty video game franchise.

The S&P 500 and Dow were slightly lower on Friday amid renewed concerns over euro zone debt, but strong results in the tech sector helped keep the Nasdaq in positive territory.

Stocks rose on Wednesday on strength in financials, putting the S&P 500 on the path for a fifth-straight session of gains and lifting it to levels not seen since before Lehman Brothers Holdings' bankruptcy.

Investors are entering 2011 in a relatively bullish mood, raising equity holdings to a 10-month high, increasing exposure to high-yield credit and cutting back on government debt, Reuters polls showed on Wednesday.

Carlyle Group is in talks to buy AlpInvest Partners, one of the world's largest private equity investors with more than 40 billion euros ($52.4 billion) under management, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

Stocks edged higher on Wednesday as gains in financial stocks helped put the S&P 500 on pace for a fifth-straight winning session and lifted the benchmark index to levels not seen since before Lehman Brothers went bankrupt.

The quest by Chile's Collahuasi copper mine to find a new route to resume shipments in the wake of a port accident that forced it to suspend exports may be hobbled by environmental and logistical problems at the closest alternative facility.

China is ready to buy 4-5 billion euros ($5.3-$6.6 billion) of Portuguese sovereign debt to help the country ward off pressure in debt markets, the Jornal de Negocios business daily reported Wednesday.

Fund managers rebuilt their equity holdings in December to one of the highest points this year on signs of a swifter economic recovery, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

Economic growth was a touch higher than previously estimated in the third quarter, but below expectations as a rise in the pace of inventory accumulation was offset by downward revisions to consumer spending, a government report showed on Wednesday.

Stocks edged higher on Wednesday as financial stocks helped extend four days of gains that drove the S&P 500 to levels not seen since before Lehman Brothers went bankrupt two years ago.

Business software maker Red Hat Inc issued an outlook for profit and revenue above Wall Street projections on Tuesday, echoing optimism about the technology spending climate shown by bigger industry companies last week.

Deutsche Bank's U.S. tax fraud settlement has heightened expectations of more deals being struck as American authorities target overseas banks in a crackdown on tax dodgers.

S&P 500 stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday as traders looked to extend four days of gains that drove the S&P 500 to levels reached just before Lehman Brothers went bankrupt two years ago.

Mortgage applications tumbled to their lowest level in nearly a year as a six-week-long rise in interest rates took a significant toll on demand, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Activision Blizzard Inc is seeking $400 million damages from Electronic Arts Inc in a lawsuit related to its Call of Duty video game franchise, court filings showed.