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HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Shares of China Strategic Holdings soared Wednesday after it announced plans to trade a part of its newly acquired stake in American International Group Inc.’s Taiwan unit for a wider presence in the Taiwanese financial-services sector.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Hong Kong-listed investment company China Strategic said it […]

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Two computer programmers who worked for Bernard L. Madoff’s investment firm were accused Friday of helping to cover-up the giant Ponzi scheme for more than for more than 15 years.
In a statement, the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan said the two programmers — Jerome O’Hara, 46, of Malverne, N.Y., and George Perez, 43, of […]

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Stocks showed modest gains on the first day of trading since the market took one of its steepest plunges in months. Signs that manufacturing in the United States was on a path to recovery helped buoy shares.
At the close of the markets on Monday, the skittishness of investors over the health of the economy, […]

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LOS ANGELES — Hugh Hefner leaned back on a red loveseat, the saggy one in the study of his infamous mansion here, and interlocked his fingers behind his head. A visitor had asked — more like shouted, since he has trouble hearing — a question about mortality.
At 83, does he think about it?
In a word, […]

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(Reuters) – Major U.S. banks and securities firms are on track to pay employees about $140 billion in total compensation and benefits this year, the Wall Street Journal said, citing an analysis of securities filings for the first half of 2009 and revenue estimates through the end of the year.
The paper said employees at […]

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QUITO, Ecuador — The multibillion-dollar legal case between Amazon peasants and Chevron over oil pollution in Ecuador’s rain forest keeps unfolding more like a mystery thriller than a battle of briefs.
Ever since the oil giant released videos in August that were secretly taped by two businessmen who seemed to have the ambition of feasting […]

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WASHINGTON — The inspector general who oversees the government’s bailout of the banking system is criticizing the Treasury Department for some misleading public statements last fall and raising the possibility that it had unfairly disbursed money to the biggest banks.
A Treasury official made incorrect statements about the health of the nation’s biggest banks even as […]

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HONG KONG — The yen spiked to an eight-month high against the dollar on Monday, weighing on the stock market and casting a spotlight on the tricky economic policy decisions facing the new government in Tokyo.
As investors fretted about the pain that a strong currency means for export behemoths like Sony, Canon and Toyota, the […]

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MOSCOW — Just a few years after compelling foreign oil companies to renegotiate their contracts in Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin has invited executives from some of the largest such companies to discuss new work on Siberian natural gas fields.
Executives from Shell, Exxon Mobil, Total and other companies met with Mr. Putin in […]

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, with each of the major indexes sliding into negative territory after an unexpected fall in sales of previously owned U.S. homes in August.
* The National Association of Realtors said sales fell 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 5.10 million units, from 5.24 million units […]

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WASHINGTON — As a senior House Democrat announced an ambitious schedule to complete legislation overhauling the nation’s financial system, the Obama administration on Wednesday abandoned a symbolically significant provision in the face of widespread political and industry opposition.
At a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner announced that the […]

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NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) failed to meet a Monday midday deadline to hand over further details about its acquisition of Merrill Lynch to a congressional investigative committee, a panel spokeswoman said.
Bank of America "did not comply with the deadline," said the spokeswoman for House Oversight and Government Reform Committee […]

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WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) – World leaders will probably agree next week to work together when the time comes to end their massive economic stimulus programs and they were also moving on Friday toward a stiffer line on bankers' pay.
A week ahead of the Sept 24-25 summit of the leaders of Group of 20 nations to […]

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Filed at 12:47 a.m. ET
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks rose Wednesday, lifted by better news about the U.S. economy and comments from the Federal Reserve’s chairman that the recession was likely over.
Major benchmarks in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong were up about 2 percent each, following on the heels of more gains on Wall […]

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell on Monday as a decision by the United States to impose special duties on Chinese tires sparked investor concerns about a possible trade dispute.
* The decision by U.S. President Barack Obama could open the door to a host of trade complaints against Chinese products, creating […]

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THE HAGUE (AP) — Dutch banks unveiled a new code of conduct Wednesday that includes capping executive bonuses and measures to ensure bonus payments do not encourage bankers to take unnecessary risks.
The new code, which has been agreed by all major Dutch banks, limits bonuses for executive board members to 100 percent of their annual […]

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TAIPEI (Reuters) – Chinatrust Financial (2891.TW) said on Monday it was planning to raise more cash on top of a $1.34 billion private placement announced on Friday, but declined to comment on reports it had outbid rivals for AIG's (AIG.N) Taiwan unit.
A source with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters on Saturday that […]

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FRANKFURT — The bankruptcy filing of the Arcandor retail and mail-order group has left its former chairman and chief executive, Thomas Middelhoff, defending himself in two inquiries related to his four years at the company.
German prosecutors are investigating Mr. Middelhoff, who once led the media giant Bertelsmann, over real estate deals between a business associate […]

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PARIS — Swedbank, one of the largest Nordic lenders, announced Monday that it is issuing preferred stock to raise about $2.1 billion to shore up its core business as loan losses continue in the eastern Baltic.
“The aim is to strengthen our competitive position in our four home markets; that is, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,” […]

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LONDON (Reuters) – World stocks hit 10-month highs for a second day running on Friday following upbeat growth data from the euro zone, but a fall in Chinese stocks and caution over the ongoing U.S. earnings season tempered gains.
Most stock markets got a leg-up after Germany and France, the euro zone's two biggest economies, […]

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