MARKETS / FINANCE

The top securities regulator said on Monday that she plans to hold broker-dealers more accountable for their customers' assets after Bernard Madoff duped his clients out of billions of dollars.

If the pair consolidates above 1.56 levels, it might help confirm an intermediate short-term upward trend, and in that case, next important target for GBP/USD will be 1.5838 (R2), a medium term support-turned resistance for the pair.

The U.S. economy is headed for a new recession, said John Taylor, chairman and chief investment officer of FX Concepts, and that will likely benefit the dollar and weigh on commodity prices.

Kellogg Co named Chief Operating Officer John Bryant its new chief executive officer on Monday, replacing David Mackay, who became eligible for retirement in July.

Swedish group Ericsson has won a five-year deal to supply technology and services to U.S. No. 3 mobile company Sprint Nextel for an unspecified sum.

Sprint Nextel has signed a technology deal worth up to $5 billion with Alcatel-Lucent , Ericsson and Samsung <005930.KS> to pave the way toward easier future upgrades and cut costs.

A French court on Monday found Continental Airlines and a mechanic at the U.S. airline guilty of involuntary manslaughter for their part in the 2000 Concorde crash that spelled the end of the supersonic airliner.

Lender Processing Services is riding the waves of foreclosures sweeping the United States, but in late October its CEO, Jeff Carbiener, found himself needing to reassure investors in the $2.8 billion company.

Stocks were little changed on Monday as investors were cautious before moves by euro zone officials to keep a debt crisis contained, but the S&P 500 stood within points of a new high for the year.

Stocks edged lower on Monday as investors took profits before moves by euro zone officials to keep a debt crisis contained, but the S&P 500 stood within points of a new high for the year.

Clearwire Corp expects to snag another round of funding late this year or early 2011 and may raise as much as $2 billion from selling wireless spectrum, according to its finance chief Erik Prusch.

MetLife expects operating earnings to grow sharply next year as the largest U.S. life insurer begins to see the benefits from its November acquisition of global life insurer Alico.

MetLife Inc expects operating earnings to grow more than a third next year as the largest U.S. life insurer benefits from its blockbuster acquisition of global life insurer Alico.

Clearwire Corp expects to snag another round of funding late this year or early 2011 and may raise as much as $2 billion from selling wireless spectrum, according to its finance chief Erik Prusch.

Momentum indicators MACD and RSI on 4-hour chart suggest the pair is in oversold zone and up for a rebound. The first stop up (R1) for USD/JPY could be 83.40 as indicated by 100-day SMA and 23.6 percent Fibonacci and further higher, the pair has resistance near 83.7 (R2), as shown by the 50-day SMA.

Stocks dipped on Monday with investors taking profits and looking for further action from European officials to prevent a debt crisis from spreading.

Wall Street was set for a weak open on Monday with investors poised to lock in profits and looking for further action from European officials to prevent the debt crisis from spreading.

Credit rating agency Moody's cut Hungary's sovereign rating by two notches, to just above junk grade, on Monday and said it may cut further if the government fails to put public finances on a sustainable footing.

The Federal Reserve could end up buying more than the $600 billion in U.S. government bonds it has committed to purchase if the economy fails to respond or unemployment stays too high, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said.

Miner Rio Tinto made a $3.5 billion bid approach for Africa-focused Riversdale Mining , sending the target firm's shares surging 16 percent and setting up a potential takeover battle.

Stock index futures slipped on Monday on jitters about the European debt crisis and with investors set to lock in profits after a strong market performance last week.

Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman plans to take on the firm's top-paid bankers and may play hardball with bonus payouts this year, the New York Post said, citing people familiar with the plans.

Stock index futures fell on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a more sobering view of the economy and investors were set to lock in profits after a strong performance last week.

Euro zone finance ministers meeting on Monday face IMF pressure to increase the size of a 750 billion euro ($1,006 billion) safety net for debt-stricken members to halt contagion in the single currency bloc.

Euro zone finance ministers meeting on Monday face pressure to increase the size of a 750 billion euro ($1.006 trillion) safety net for debt-stricken members in order to halt contagion in the single currency bloc.

China's currency peg hurts U.S. exports but is also bad for the Chinese economy, since it prevents the country's authorities from running their own monetary policy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said.

AOL Inc, undergoing a radical transformation into the king of content on the Internet, is actively exploring a breakup of the company involving a complicated series of transactions that may lead to a merger with Yahoo Inc, sources close to the plans said.

Ben Bernanke is ready for his close-up.As the Federal Reserve tries to counter suspicion of its latest $600 billion stimulus plan, it is making a concerted, if awkward, effort to raise the chairman's profile and harmonize the often-dissonant message from within the central bank.

The IMF will urge euro zone governments on Monday to boost the size of their rescue fund and recommend the European Central Bank buy more bonds to prevent the bloc's debt crisis from derailing economic recovery.