INVESTMENT

U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday on gains in commodity prices and an upswing in merger and acquisition activity as investors awaited a batch of key economic data, including consumer prices and industrial production.

Asian shares hit their highest levels for 2009 on Wednesday after upbeat U.S. economic news gave riskier assets leveraged to global growth a boost, while the U.S. dollar slipped to a one-year low.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc said on Tuesday that Barclays Capital Inc got a $8.2 billion windfall profit from excess assets it took control of in the fire sale of Lehman's U.S. brokerage business a year ago.

Macquarie Group Ltd, the Australian investment bank best known for privatizing public roads and airports, is making a big investment in Wall Street.

Private equity giant Blackstone Group is starting to see attractive opportunities in real estate again, after waiting on the sidelines for deals since 2007, its chief operating officer Tony James said on Tuesday.

Stocks rose modestly on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected retail sales data, though gains were limited by some retailers' disappointing earnings.

Citigroup Inc shares were trading down around 5 percent on Tuesday after reports the government might begin shedding its stake in the New York-based bank.

Twenty-two years after appearing on the big screen, and one year after the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers, the film character Gordon Gekko continues to resonate on Wall Street.

U.S. stocks rose modestly on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected retail sales data, though gains were limited by some retailers' disappointing earnings.

U.S. stocks were little changed on Tuesday as some retail companies' results and rising credit card defaults overshadowed government data showing stronger-than-expected retail sales last month.

MSC Software Corp, a simulation and software services company, said it received a revised offer of $8.15 per share from a group of private equity firms after Maximus Holdings raised its offer to $8.

Real estate equity funds dominated Lipper's ranking of top-performing funds in August, as expectations of an impending property market recovery prompted a rally in European property stocks. Of the top 20 UK-registered equity funds ranked by fund tracker Lipper, a unit of Thomson Reuters, 11 were real estate funds of which nine are invested in the UK or Europe.

U.S. stock index futures were flat on Tuesday as investors awaited key economic data, including the retail sales report, for more evidence of an economic recovery.

U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Tuesday as investors awaited key economic data, including the retail sales report, for more evidence of an economic recovery.

(Corrects paragraph 4 to read 7.7 billion instead of 7.7 million)

The Treasury Department is talking to Citigroup Inc about how to sell the roughly one-third stake the government acquired as part of its bailout of the bank, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

A real estate investment trust and a Chinese on-line video game maker are set to price initial public offerings next week, joining a flurry of prospective deals that could make September the busiest month for IPOs in nearly two years.

KAR Holdings Inc, which runs auctions for used vehicles, plans to go public and raise as much as $400 million, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

A federal judge rejected Bank of America Corp's $33 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over Merrill Lynch & Co bonuses as a contrivance, and New York's top legal officer prepared to sue senior bank executives.

A federal judge rejected Bank of America Corp's $33 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over Merrill Lynch & Co bonuses as a contrivance, and New York's top legal officer prepared possible civil charges against bank executives.

A federal judge on Monday rejected Bank of America Corp's and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's $33 million settlement over Merrill Lynch & Co bonuses as a contrivance that deprives shareholders of the truth.