INVESTMENT

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his government is willing to sit down with Exxon Mobil Corp. officials after years of tension following the nationalization of the country's oil industry.

Now is not the time for experimental business models, which means now is the time to consider JC Penney (JCP), according to one stock reviewer.

Citigroup began a round of layoffs among its London-based investment bankers this week, with jobs in advisory, equities and fixed income set to go as the bank readies 4,500 redundancies worldwide.

Congressman Barney Frank on Wednesday asked his colleagues to hold a hearing on alleged mortgage abuses at Ally Financial, a day after the attorney general from his home state of Massachusetts requested that lawmakers investigate.

India has retracted its plan to allow foreign retail chains like Wal-Mart and Britain's Tesco to open in the country, according to multiple reports. The reversal comes less than two weeks after the global business sector and the Indian government heaped praise on the original deal to let foreign retailers into India to jolt the country's economy and lower prices for farmers and consumers.

David Gray, an obsessive investment banker for JP Morgan, has been convicted of carrying out a cross-Atlantic stalking mission in an aim to re-kindle his relationship with his ex-mistress, Daniela Rausnitz.

Brazilian oil major Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, will not be meeting its daily production target this year said company executive in Qatar Wednesday, citing increased safety regulations in Brazil.

Foes of Newmont Mining's $4.8 billion Conga mine project in Peru said on Wednesday they were practically kidnapped by counterterrorism police in a crackdown on left-wing activists by President Ollanta Humala.

U.S. banks want regulators to give them more time to liquidate investments in certain private equity funds under the Volcker rule, arguing that without more leeway they will have to hold fire sales.

To hear it from one side, private equity and hedge fund managers are under a veritable siege: under attack from politicians, regulators, an ornery market and uneasy clients. But the hedge fund managers themselves seem to be saying all is good in Greenwich.

Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday on optimism that European leaders will take strong steps to resolve the region's debt crisis at a summit later this week.

The Shanghai municipal government unveiled a plan on Wednesday that will create incentives for foreign private equity and venture capital funds to invest in early-stage technology companies in the city.

Olympus Corp's board signaled plans to quit over a $1.7 billion accounting fraud, but will likely pick a team of potential successors, triggering a battle for control of the Japanese firm with the former CEO who blew the whistle on the scandal.

China's annual rate of export growth slowed in November versus October, vice commerce minister Chong Quan told reporters on Wednesday, confirming market expectations that deteriorating external conditions are dragging on the world's No. 2 economy.

Citigroup Inc. (C) Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said the bank will eliminate 4,500 jobs "over the next few quarters" in an effort to reduce costs, The Associated Press reported.

Verizon Communications Inc plans to launch a standalone service allowing customers to stream movies and television shows over the Web, in a fresh challenge to Netflix Inc and the traditional cable TV business, according to several people briefed on the plan.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) announced it will sell all of the assets of Hartford Life Private Placement LLC, a subsidiary that provides insurance to high-net-worth customers, to Philadelphia Financial Group Inc. for $117.5 million.

In an effort to provide relief to families left with no potable drinking water in Dimock Pennsylvania, activists and local leaders shipped roughly 5,700 gallons of fresh water supplies by bus Tuesday from New York City's city hall.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management has hired a former Goldman Sachs banker to join its ultra high net worth family advisory team in Los Angeles, the firm said on Monday.

Police extended moves aimed at keeping anti-Wall street protesters from camping on Monday, arresting 11 people in Orlando and San Diego after a weekend clampdown in cities on both the East and West coasts netted scores of arrests.

There is a significant chance that the Federal Reserve will embark on a third round of asset purchases to stimulate the U.S. economy, a major bond fund manager said on Tuesday.