Everbright Securities Co, China's 10th biggest brokerage by market share, plans to raise as much as 10.96 billion yuan ($1.60 billion) in its Shanghai initial public offering after announcing an IPO price range on Sunday.
HSBC and Barclays on Monday reported a surge in bad debts to a combined $21 billion as recession took its toll on borrowers, but Britain's two biggest banks offered encouragement they could be through the worst.
India's Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN Group extended talks to combine their operations to create the world's third-largest mobile operator and analysts said Bharti might need to sweeten its offer to clinch the deal.
'Clunkers' boosts sales, UBS Soars, HSBC slips
Auto sales for July which will be announced on Monday are expected to be boosted by the government's cash-for-clunkers program. The program boosted industry wide deliveries of new vehicles to the highest levels of this year.
U.S. stocks headed for a higher open on Monday as solid results from major European banks and expectations of a sales rebound for Ford Motor Co reinforced hopes that the recession is moderating.
Shares in UBS soared on Monday after reports said the Swiss bank would not pay a fine and would pass on fewer client names than expected in a settlement of U.S. tax litigation to be finalized later this week.
U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday following reassuring bank results from Europe and as investors bet that the global economy is on the road to recovery.
Barclays Plc fell short of expectations with an 8 percent rise in half-year profit as bad debts at Britain's second biggest bank almost doubled to offset buoyant earnings from its enlarged investment bank.
HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, said its first-half profit halved from a year ago to $5 billion as it was hit by rising bad debts in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, tracking gains in Asia and Europe on mounting hopes that the global recession is abating.
World stocks climbed to a new 2009 high on Monday with banking news from Europe generally positive and signs of a pick up in Chinese economic activity lifting Asian shares.
Shares in UBS are expected to rise on Monday after reports the bank would not have to pay a fine as part of the settlement of a tax dispute with the United States that is to be finalized later this week.
Asian stocks crawled up to an 11-month high on Monday as Chinese shares cheered more signs of economic activity picking up speed, giving a boost to oil and copper prices while hurting the safe-haven U.S. dollar.
Japan's Nikkei average inched down 0.1 percent on Monday, with investors cautious ahead of more corporate earnings reports, but banks rose after Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group posted its first profit in three quarters.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs' reputation among both the general public and financially sophisticated Americans has been damaged by the events of the past year, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing research conducted for the paper.
Andrew Hall, the trader behind Phibro LLC, the energy trading arm of beleaguered bank Citigroup , is quietly pushing for a quiet divorce from his parent company and has had preliminary talks with one possible suitor, The New York Times reported on Sunday.
'Clunkers' Hope, Housing's Double Dip? Stocks Watch
Switzerland's UBS will not have to pay a fine as part of the settlement of a tax evasion dispute with the United States, two Swiss newspapers reported on Sunday.
HSBC's Bill Maldonado is a man who loves to mix science with art -- be that in running Halbis's hedge fund business, riding his high-power Ducati motorbike on a race track or piloting a light aircraft.
Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co is preparing for an initial public offering for discount retailer Dollar General, a source said, and others are speculated to follow as it looks to take advantage of a recent rise in equity markets.
Las Vegas Sands, the world's largest casino firm, is seeking $400 million in short-term funding to help boost cash and restart construction of its stalled resort in Macau, local media reported on Saturday.
