INVESTMENT

Gold prices rose slightly on Monday, but trade was quiet as many investors stayed on the sidelines with European and other major metals markets closed since late last week for Christmas.

JPMorgan Chase & Co said it has sued a former private banking executive arrested last year in Argentina on criminal charges, accusing him of stealing $2.8 million from a customer's account.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK) has sought bankruptcy court approval to hire Neuberger Berman Fixed Income LLC to help it sell asset-backed securities worth $180 million, court filings show.

Debt-laden radio company Clear Channel on Monday said its outdoor unit completed raising $2.5 billion in the high-yield debt market, removing concerns about the company's short-term liquidity.

Healthcare companies are lining up to go public, and they could get a warmer reception in 2010 as investors' risk appetite increases, and new legislation potentially leads to more profit for the sector.

Switzerland's competition watchdog will examine closely the planned merger between France Telecom's Orange and Danish-owned Sunrise to ensure the grouping does not dominate the Swiss mobile market.

Senior bondholders who drafted the reorganization plan for bankrupt Six Flags should reveal their investments to determine if they fairly represented themselves to the theme park company, according to a court filing by creditors.

Integrys Energy Services Inc, a unit of Integrys Energy Group Inc, said it agreed to sell its wholesale electric marketing and trading business to a unit of Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd.

Wall Street was set for a modestly higher open on Monday as investors were wary of taking bets that could erode gains heading into year-end.

Short interest on the New York Stock Exchange rose 2.7 percent in first half of December, the exchange said in a release late Thursday. As of December 15, short interest rose to about 13.53 billion shares, compared to 13.18 billion shares as of November 30.

U.S. municipal bonds already have scored most of the out-sized, bounce-back gains from 2008's bear market and in 2010 will post only ho-hum returns.

Stock index futures indicated a flat to higher open on Monday with investors wary of taking bets that could erode gains heading into year-end.

Stock index futures indicated a flat to higher open on Monday, with investors wary of taking risky bets into year-end.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat to higher open on Wall Street on Monday following the Christmas break, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.07 percent, Dow Jones futures flat and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.27 percent at 4.17 a.m. ET.

Gold prices moved up in thin Asian trade Monday as markets yet to pick up momentum after a three day holiday. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1111.05 an ounce at 12.00 noon Singapore time compared with New York's notional close of $1103.80.

Japanese shares hit a four-month high, leading gains in Asian stocks on growing investor optimism about the global economy, while the U.S. dollar held firm against the yen and euro.

A key informant in the U.S. tax evasion case against Swiss bank UBS AG has asked a federal court in Florida to postpone the scheduled January 8 start of his prison term so that he can cooperate further with the U.S. government to uncover tax cheats.

A key informant in the U.S. tax evasion case against Swiss bank UBS AG has asked a Florida court to postpone the scheduled January 8 start of his prison term, saying he is ready to cooperate further with the U.S. government in the case.

Wall Street is likely to make a strong showing in the final week of 2009 as the bulls gear up to toast the first annual advance for U.S. stocks in two years on hopes of more economic stability in 2010.

Healthcare companies are lining up to go public, and they could get a warmer reception in 2010 as investors' risk appetite increases, and new legislation potentially leads to more profit for the sector.

Millennium Management returned about $3 billion to investors in early October after the hedge fund firm changed some rules, making it easier for clients to exit, people familiar with the fund said.