GOLDMAN SACHS

Wall Street was set for a slight rise at the open on Tuesday ahead of a Federal Reserve statement expected to reiterate the central bank's pledge to keep interest rates extraordinarily low.

On Wall Street, massaging the balance sheet is a time-honored practice.

Author Michael Lewis, known for exposing the culture of excess at Solomon Brothers with his book Liar's Poker, says Wall Street bonuses at banks bailed out by Washington are a very elegant form of theft.

The Greek debt crisis is poised to undermine already dwindling investment flows into south-eastern Europe's emerging economies, adding to barriers to recovery in one of the continent's most fragile regions.

CBOE Holdings Inc plans a $300 million public offering in a long-awaited move that could allow the biggest U.S. options exchange to expand or be acquired.

Shareholders may have to wait for months to retrieve capital after U.S. regulators told banks not to increase dividends or buy back shares amid political and economic uncertainty surrounding the financial industry, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Fred Hu is stepping down as a partner of Goldman Sachs, according to an internal memo, as sources said he plans to launch a new private equity fund.

Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou on Tuesday proposed a ban on derivative trading techniques that increase debt costs for countries like Greece which struggle to cut their deficits.

MetLife Inc pursued AIG's foreign life insurance business for two years before finally clinching a $15.5 billion purchase that will give it beachheads in 47 nations from Peru to Bangladesh.

AIG is selling its foreign life insurance unit to MetLife Inc for about $15.5 billion, its second major asset sale in a week as it raises funds to repay a $182.3 billion U.S. government bailout.

AIG is selling its foreign life insurance unit to MetLife Inc for about $15.5 billion, in its second major asset sale in a week to repay the U.S. government billions of bailout money.

Deutsche Bank on Saturday denied a magazine report that its financing of a Greek trade deal seven years ago was questionable.

After digesting a slew of economic data, the stock market edges higher in the afternoon session as big banks and apparel retailers emerge as market leaders.

The U.S. stock market erased morning gains to trade negative for the day, despite declining unemployment claims, better than expected sales from retailers, and Greece's successful auction of its 10-year bonds.

In a Senate hearing on Tuesday titled Restoring Credit to Main Street, witnesses stated that the inability of small businesses to obtain financing is severely hindering job creation in the United States.

Goldman Sachs Group has cut the $7.5 billion fundraising target for its second infrastructure fund by more than half after failing to secure enough commitments.

Britain's Prudential will buy American International Group's Asian life insurance arm for $35.5 billion in the insurance sector's biggest deal ever, helping the bailed-out U.S. group repay a big chunk of its taxpayer debt.

U.S. regulators are closely monitoring banks' exposures to sovereign debt risk, Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan said on Monday.

Warren Buffett said out of control health care costs are a tapeworm limiting growth in an economy recovering only fitfully from the financial crisis.

NEW YORK, March 1 Reuters) - Warren Buffett said the U.S. economy has passed the worst of its troubles but faces an uneven recovery as consumers keep a tight rein on spending.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc's board has rejected demands from shareholders that the firm investigate recent compensation awards, recoup excessive compensation and reform pay practices.