Moran Zhang

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, is being investigated by a U.K. regulator over possible accounting scheme in the firm’s auditing of investment bank Barclays Capital Securities Ltd. In January, the FSA fined Barclays Capital £1.1 million ($1.7 million) for putting client money at risk over an eight year period.

The U.S. banking industry is undergoing its most radical structural change since the Great Depression, according to S&P's Ratings Services Thursday.

Discover Financial Services should be a stock that catches the eyes of traders and investors. Crowned as the top performer this year in the Standard & Poor's 500 Financials Index, the company closed Wednesday's session at $23.82, up about 30 percent since the start of 2011. However, Discover is trading at a lower multiple compared with its peers, Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

Morgan Stanley (MS) announced plans to cut 1,600 job globally Thursday. Another axe fell on Wall Street.

The number of people seeking state unemployment benefits fell for the second straight week, to the lowest level since May 2008, government data showed on Thursday, suggesting the labor market recovery is gaining momentum.

Fitch Ratings says challenging times will continue for U.S. states, but fundamental strength remains. Among the 43 states Fitch rates, 38 carry a stable outlook.

Jefferies Group Inc. (JEF), a mid-market pure play investment bank that has been battered for weeks by a steady feed of negative rumors, has more bad news to share. The firm is slashing 11 percent of its workforce, mainly in its equities division, as investors remain skeptical about the company’s ability to stay independent.

Fed-watchers two decades ago had a hard time speculating what the central bank's decisions were because the Fed said relatively little about its monetary policy and allowed actions to speak for themselves. However, efficient markets do not like to be kept guessing.

Morgan Stanley (MS) is taking a step back to reach a mutually beneficial settlement with bond insurance firm MBIA. The investment bank announced Tuesday that it's willing to take a pre-tax loss of $1.8 billion in the current quarter to resolve outstanding legacy exposures.

One in five employees suffers from a mental illness, such as depression or anxiety, and many are struggling to cope, according to a new report released Monday by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international economic organization of 34 countries including the U.S.

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) announced Monday it is hiring about 160 Merrill Edge Financial Solutions Advisors across Southern California and Arizona by the end of first quarter 2012 as part of the firm's plan to enhance the solutions it offers to preferred customers -- those with investable assets of $50,000 to $250,000.

The federal government ran a budget deficit of $137 billion in November, which is smaller than the $150 billion posted in the same month last year, the Treasury Department reported Monday. However, much of the difference occurred due to shifts in the timing of payments.

Barclays Plc. (BCS) chief executive Bob Diamond has fired as many as 30 bankers for violating his newly imposed "no-jerk" rule and acting in a way that embarrasses the company.

Student loan company Sallie Mae Corp. (SLM) left the New York Stock Exchange and began trading on the NASDAQ stock market Monday under the ticker symbol SLM in what the company calls a "cost-effective" move. The firm also launched a new corporate logo.

Warren Buffett has pegged his 56-year-old son Howard, a corn farmer, as successor to his $245 billion money-making machine Berkshire Hathaway, according to the billionaire in an interview with 60 Minutes, scheduled to air this Sunday.

Lloyds Banking Group's chief executive António Horta-Osório, who signed off on medical leave in early November because of exhaustion, will have to re-apply for his job at a board meeting next week before he can return to work, the Financial Times reported.

Prospects for revenue growth for U.S. insurance brokers in 2012 will likely match or exceed levels reported for the first nine months of 2011. Nevertheless, the competitive fundamentals of the property/casualty insurance market and tepid pace of the global economic recovery will continue to challenge more meaningful improvement in operating performance, Fitch Ratings said Thursday.

The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced that Steven Kamin will take over the helm at its International Finance Division, which supports the Federal Open Market Committee by providing information and analysis pertaining to economic and financial developments in foreign countries and the performance of the U.S. external sector.

The SEC on Thursday charged Wachovia Bank N.A. -- now Wells Fargo Bank following a merger in March 2010 -- with fraudulently engaging in secret arrangements with bidding agents to improperly win business from municipalities and guarantee itself profits in the reinvestment of municipal bond proceeds.

Fewer Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week. Thursday's data once again edged back from the 400,000 mark -- the level below which economists say signals a strengthening job market - after popping above it in the prior week.

It turns out that credit unions did not benefit so much from fed-up customers of big banks. The Credit Union National Association said in early November that their survey showed an estimated 650,000 Americans have opened new accounts at credit unions since Sept. 29, the day Bank of America (BAC) announced the $5 debit card fee that it later cancelled due to mounting pressure. However, a newly released regular monthly report shows quite a difference scenario.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded five more North American banks late Tuesday, a move to better reflect a recalibration of its view of the banking sector. The downgrade is a result of the application of the revised bank criteria published on Nov. 9, rather than any sudden and striking changes in creditworthiness.

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) announced that all deposit-taking ATMs in its network of more than 12,000 machines in the U.S. are now entirely envelope-free. Citibank (C) stated in its recent edition of client manual for consumer accounts that the bank will be installing new envelope-free ATMs at Citibank branches and other Citi locations "throughout 2011."

Citigroup Inc. (C) Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said the bank will eliminate 4,500 jobs "over the next few quarters" in an effort to reduce costs, The Associated Press reported.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) announced it will sell all of the assets of Hartford Life Private Placement LLC, a subsidiary that provides insurance to high-net-worth customers, to Philadelphia Financial Group Inc. for $117.5 million.

Insider trading by federal lawmakers is unlawful, but "distinct legal and factual issues" may arise and make the investigation or prosecutions difficult to proceed. However, any statutory changes on insider trading should be "carefully calibrated" to ensure they do not narrow current law, a top Securities and Exchange Commission official warned Tuesday.

The Citigroup Economic Surprise Index (CESIYUSD), a closely watched index that compares economists' expectations for key indicators and actual results, is at a peak. If trends are to be believed, it's three months from a cyclical nadir -- a point that has signaled a stock market correction in the past.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) and the government of Rwanda announced a partnership at a Monday press conference in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. Under the agreement, Visa will help the government extend access to financial services to local and international consumers throughout the country.

Businesses decreased their overall orders for factory goods in October for the second straight month, signaling softening manufacturing activities.