MERRILL LYNCH

The move is expected to increase anger that the bank is still paying large salaries while thousands, including more than 30,000 layoffs at the bank in the last three years, lose their jobs in a weakening global economy.

U.S. home resales rose to a 1-1/2 year high in January, pushing the supply of properties on the market to the lowest level in almost seven years in a hopeful sign for the housing sector.

A series of technology companies, including security software maker Palo Alto Networks, are preparing to go public on the heels of Facebook's $5-billion filing, sensing a window of opportunity as the stock market rallies.

Shares of Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix were down more than 4 percent Wednesday following a day earlier announcement that Comcast was jumping into the online streaming foray.

TransUnion Corp., the third largest provider of credit information to banks and consumers, said Advent International Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s private equity arm agreed to buy the company from Chicago's billionaire Pritzker family and local private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC for over $3 billion.

The Occupy movement has moved beyond pickets and protests with a group called Occupy the SEC, which has submitted a 325-page letter on the proposed Volcker Rule.

Empire State Realty Trust Inc, the company that controls Manhattan's Empire State Building, plans to raise as much as $1 billion by means of an initial public offering.

Japan's Nikkei share average slipped on Tuesday but still hovered near the 9,000 level, with non-life insurers underperforming after MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings (8725.T) cut guidance on heavy losses on the flooding in Thailand.

The Malkin family, owner of the Empire State Building and other properties in New York and Connecticut, has filed for an initial public offering that will allow the public to own a piece of the storied Art Deco landmark.

Empire State Realty Trust, owners of the iconic Empire State Building, filed to sell up to $1 billion of its Class A common stock, giving ordinary investors a chance to own a piece of the building that has been fought over by billionaires.

China's annual inflation spiked to a consensus-busting 4.5 percent in January as spending jumped during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday season, breaking a five-month softening trend and forcing a market rethink of policy easing expectations.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP), the world's largest snack-food maker, is projected to report stronger fourth-quarter profit as PepsiCo continue to capitalize on emerging market growth and proper hedging against commodity price swings.

A former broker of a UBS AG unit can keep $1 million of a signing bonus he received when joining the firm, despite leaving earlier than terms of the bonus required, according to a ruling by an arbitration panel.

A renewed focus on Europe's banking and debt crisis may quickly sap the nascent optimism about global economic prospects that followed a remarkably solid U.S. January employment report.

The Bank of America will sell and leaseback some of its administrative office space as part of its move to shed nonessential assets.

Solar power company SolarCity is expected to debut on U.S. markets in the third quarter this year and has hired Goldman Sachs to underwrite its initial public offering, a source close to the company said on Thursday.

Despite the determination of President Obama to take Wall Street to court for the financial crisis, prosecutors face an uphill struggle to win more convictions like the two they scored on Wednesday against former Credit Suisse Group AG mortgage traders.

Facebook unveiled plans for the biggest ever Internet IPO that could raise as much as $10 billion, but made it clear CEO Mark Zuckerberg will exercise almost complete control over the company, leaving investors with little say.

Europe's biggest oil company, Royal Dutch Shell is expected to take a hit in its refining and marketing earnings, but could follow the likes of ExxonMobil in posting profit that at least matches analyst expectations thanks to high oil prices.

JC Penney's new Chief Executive Ron Johnson thinks shoppers have dropped the coupon-hounding, sale-chasing era when department stores reigned. Retail territory has been ceded to bargain sellers such as Walmart and Target. The former Apple retail executive offered a much-hyped solution last week, mixing branding, a new pricing structure and a buoyant ethos.

Facebook is expected to submit paperwork to regulators on Wednesday morning for a $5 billion initial public offering and has selected Morgan Stanley and four other bookrunners to handle the mega-IPO, sources close to the deal told IFR.