Electronics retailer RadioShack Corp will start selling video-game software in its stores, a Citigroup analyst said on Friday.
Bank of America sold 230 billion yen ($2 billion) of global bonds on Friday, sources said, joining a handful of major banks that have sought to raise cash in Japan's stable credit markets.
Stocks were little changed on Friday as weakness in semiconductor makers after a broker downgrade of Intel Corp was offset by strength in energy producers.
U.S. stocks rose on Thursday after a Wall Street analyst said brokerage shares were undervalued and McDonald's Corp raised its annual dividend by 50 percent.
Countrywide Financial Corp shares closed down almost 2 percent on Tuesday following a report the largest U.S. mortgage lender was working on a strategic investment similar to the deal with Bank of America Corp last month in which it received a $2 billion injection.
GMAC, the finance unit once controlled by General Motors Corp, said on Tuesday Citigroup will double its asset-backed funding facilities to $21.4 billion as it struggles with subprime mortgage losses.
Bank Citigroup will list its shares in Tokyo as early as November as part of the financial giant's push into the world's second-largest economy, sources familiar with said.
Technology stocks have emerged as a safe haven for investors amid turmoil.
China's booming economy is creating more than 70 millionaires a day, but foreign banks don't have enough products, client managers or offices to tap into the market for top-end private wealth services.
Turmoil in the credit markets will take a toll on the U.S. economy but the full impact will not be clear for another two or three months, William Rhodes, senior vice chairman of Citigroup Inc, said on Thursday.
Seven investment vehicles run by Citigroup controlling roughly $100 billion of assets said on Thursday the credit quality of their portfolios remained very strong and they had succeeded in funding themselves in August.
HSBC said on Thursday it plans to start retail banking operations in Japan from January 2008, making Europe's largest bank the latest foreign player to target Japan's legion of wealthy individuals.
The Nikkei average closed 0.6 percent higher on Thursday, after hitting its lowest level in a week, as telecoms including KDDI Corp gained on a bullish brokerage report and steel stocks rose on better outlooks.
Citigroup Inc and other banks could find themselves burdened with affiliated investment vehicles that issue 10s of billions of dollars in short-term debt, the Wall Street Journal said in its online edition on Wednesday.
Mortgage insurer MGIC Investment Corp. and bond insurer Radian Group Inc. agreed to terminate their pending merger, the companies said on Wednesday, citing market conditions.
The yen strengthened on Tuesday as softer equity markets ahead of a flurry of U.S. data signaled a return to risk aversion for nervous markets, leading investors to unwind carry trade positions.
The U.S. Justice Department and other authorities have stepped up investigations into several large European banks for violating sanctions against Iran, Libya, Cuba and Sudan, the Financial Times reported in its online edition.
Basis Yield Alpha Fund, a hedge fund specializing in corporate and structured credit, on Wednesday filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States amid mounting losses from U.S. subprime mortgage assets, court papers show.
U.S. stock indexes tumbled more than 2 percent on Tuesday after Merrill Lynch warned that ailing credit markets will hurt bank profits, while reports showing eroding consumer confidence and falling home prices added to concerns about the economy.
Stock index futures fell on Tuesday due to renewed global credit concerns and caution ahead of reports on home prices and consumer confidence. Banking stocks took an early beating after MarketWatch reported that Merrill Lynch had downgraded to neutral from buy investment banks Bear Stearns Cos., Lehman Brothers and Citigroup.
Taiwan's Acer announced on Monday that it has agreed to acquire U.S.-based Gateway for $710 million, zooming past China's Lenovo to become the world's third largest computer maker behind U.S. makers Hewlett-Packard and Dell.
Citigroup Inc is combining two groups of traders focused on global credit markets, which have been in turmoil this month.
