MARKETS / FINANCE

From Wall Street to the City of London to Hong Kong's Central District, bankers are bracing for bonuses to be down 7 percent on average from a year ago, and higher salaries will only partially cushion the hit, a Reuters/IFR global poll shows.

Accounting firm Ernst & Young was sued by New York prosecutors over allegations it helped to hide Lehman Brothers' financial problems, in the first major government legal action stemming from the Wall Street company's 2008 downfall.

Deutsche Bank admitted criminal wrongdoing for taking part in fraudulent tax shelters that let clients hide billions of dollars, and agreed to pay $553.6 million to settle the case, U.S. prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Intel Corp has won approval from the Federal Trade Commission for its proposed $7.68 billion acquisition of security specialist McAfee Inc, the chipmaker said.

From Wall Street to the City of London to Hong Kong's Central District, bankers are bracing for bonuses to be down 7 percent on average from a year ago, and higher salaries will only partially cushion the hit, a Reuters/IFR global poll shows.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as solid earnings and a flurry of merger activity underpinned a steady upward trend that reinforced investor optimism for the coming year.

Toronto-Dominion Bank is buying Chrysler Financial for $6.3 billion, the second time in a week that a Canadian lender has placed a big bet on the U.S. economic recovery.

New York prosecutors sued Ernst & Young, accusing the accounting firm of helping to hide Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's financial problems, the first major government legal action stemming from the Wall Street bank's 2008 downfall.

A appeals court ruled in favor of Tessera Technologies Inc in a chip patent dispute with Qualcomm Inc , Spansion Inc , Freescale Semiconductor Inc , ATI Technologies and STMicroelectronics NV .

Activision Blizzard Inc has raked in more than $1 billion in worldwide sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops, the latest installment of the U.S. game publisher's most successful franchise.

The world's No. 3 copper mine, Collahuasi, scrambled on Tuesday to find a new way to ship metal and generate cash after an accident shut its Patache port terminal, strangling its exports as copper prices hit new highs.

Stocks rose on Tuesday as solid earnings and a flurry of merger activity underpinned a steady upward trend that reinforced investor optimism for the coming year.

Toronto-Dominion Bank is buying Chrysler Financial for $6.3 billion, the second time in a week that a Canadian lender has placed a big bet on the U.S. economic recovery.

The Gold Price touched a 4-session high at $1390 per ounce in early London trade on Tuesday, rising for Euro and UK investors as world stock markets hit new two-year highs.

New York prosecutors sued Ernst & Young, accusing the accounting firm of helping to hide Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's financial problems, the first major government legal action stemming from the Wall Street bank's 2008 downfall.

European rescue funds will start raising cash on the market to help Ireland in January, starting with bonds issued by the European Financial Stability Mechanism, the European Commission said in a statement.

Internet TV services planned by Microsoft, Google and Amazon could be held back by imminent rules that would allow phone and cable companies to charge consumers based on usage, media executives told Reuters.

Toronto-Dominion Bank is buying Chrysler Financial from Cerberus Capital Management for $6.3 billion, the second time in a week that a Canadian lender has placed a big bet on the resilience of the U.S. economy.

Stocks advanced on Tuesday as solid earnings and a flurry of merger action laid the foundation for a steady upward trend in the equities market that investors potentially see accelerating.

The world's major central banks said on Tuesday they would extend emergency supplies of U.S. dollar funding to money markets, in a sign that authorities remain concerned about financial instability as governments grapple with debt problems.

EUR/USD gained ground on Tuesday and moved off an 18-day low it hit on Monday. The pair now has immediate resistance around 1.3285, a Fibonacci retracement level which comes just above 50-day and 100-day SMAs on 4-hour chart. RSI also suggests bullishness for the pair.

During a rainstorm in Washington in early 2009, amid the furor over Wall Street's post-bailout bonuses, an American International Group employee pulled out an umbrella that had the insurer's name on it.

The Treasury Department plans to sell a large piece of its stake in American International Group in two stock offerings next year, officials briefed on the situation told Reuters.

Gold prices will keep rising over the next two years to hit $1,600 per ounce by the end of 2011 and $2,000 by end of 2012, as fresh shocks to the global financial system are expected, an analyst has said.

Stocks advanced on Tuesday as solid earnings and a flurry of merger action laid the foundation for a steady upward trend in the equities market that investors potentially see accelerating.

Stocks rose on Tuesday as solid earnings and a new flurry of merger action laid the foundation for a steady upward trend in the equities market that investors believe will continue.

High-speed Internet has had the greatest technological impact on society over the past decade and is the technology most people say they cannot live without, according to a new poll.

The demand for gasoline might never get back to levels seen during 2006, as alternate forms of fuel gain more popularity, a report by AP said.

U.S. regulators may force big financial firms to award half or more of their executive pay in the form of stock or other deferred compensation instead of cash, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.