INVESTMENT

Wells Fargo & Co and U.S. Bancorp reported better-than-forecast quarterly earnings, helped by recent acquisitions, while larger rival Bank of America Corp got a boost from Merrill Lynch.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wants to expand its lawsuit in the widening Galleon hedge fund probe to add new charges against two defendants, Galleon founder Raj Rajaratnam and former McKinsey & Co director Anil Kumar.

Wall Street suffered its worst slide of 2010 on Wednesday as investors worried that lending restrictions in China could hurt the global economic recovery, while a conservative outlook from IBM dented recent optimism about the technology sector.

U.S. retail brokerages modestly boosted fourth-quarter profits as higher merger and recruiting expenses largely offset growing management fees and a market-fueled increase in client assets.

Four of the major U.S. financial institutions - with a combined market capitalization of $352 billion - reported mixed fourth quarter earnings today.

Wells Fargo & Co and U.S. Bancorp reported better-than-forecast quarterly earnings, helped by recent acquisitions, while larger rival Bank of America Corp got a boost from Merrill Lynch.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) this morning reported a loss of $0.29 per share for the year 2009 and a loss of $0.60 per share for the fourth quarter.

JPMorgan Chase is in exclusive talks to buy the RBS Sempra commodities joint venture, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in a deal expected to be worth about $4 billion.

U.S. stocks were poised for a lower open on Wednesday on reports of bank lending restrictions in China and as quarterly results from three big U.S. banks raised uneasiness about the state of the sector.

Morgan Stanley's fourth-quarter profit missed expectations as results were hampered by accounting charges related to the appreciation of the value of the firm's debt.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday on reports of bank lending restrictions in China and as quarterly results from a host of U.S. banks increased uneasiness about the state of financial companies.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday on reports of bank lending restrictions in China as earnings reports from a host of U.S. banks increased uneasiness about the state of financial companies.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.38 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.37 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.48 percent at 1018 GMT (5:18 a.m. EST).

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.38 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.37 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.48 percent at 1018 GMT (5:18 a.m. EST).

The Treasury Department persuaded some big banks to pay more than market estimates to repurchase warrants issued to the government in the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a draft Treasury report.

After reporting steep profit drops on Tuesday, the top two U.S. online brokerages asked for patience as they face more of the same low interest rates and hope their clients return to the markets in force this year.

Citigroup Inc posted a $7.6 billion quarterly loss on Tuesday, but the bank's shares rose as declining loan losses raised hopes that the worst might soon be over.

Bank of America Corp likely will post another loss when it reports fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, as banks continue to grapple with their problems loans and a weak economy.

Longtime rivals Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc find themselves on different ends of the pay debate as the surviving Wall Street titans prepare to disclose their fourth-quarter results.

Citigroup Inc posted a $7.6 billion quarterly loss on Tuesday after recording big charges linked to repaying government funds and bad loans.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as investors bet that a Senate race in Massachusetts could put President Obama's reform plans, especially those on healthcare, in jeopardy.