BofA could still put Countrywide into bankruptcy, executive says

By Karen Freifeld

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) could put its Countrywide Financial unit into bankruptcy if it fails to win court approval for an $8.5 billion settlement with mortgage investors, a bank executive said on Monday.

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S&P revises U.S. credit outlook to 'stable' from negative

By David Gaffen and Daniel Bases

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's on Monday removed the near-term threat of another credit rating downgrade for the United States by revising its outlook to stable from negative, citing an improved economic and fiscal outlook.

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U.S. hiring outlook positive; global employers uncertain: report

By Madeline Will

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More employers in the United States plan to hire workers next quarter than in any period since the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a survey by Manpower Group (MAN.N), the global employment services giant.

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Asian shares hit 2013 lows; Nikkei slides as BoJ disappoints

By Chikako Mogi

TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar slipped against the yen after the Bank of Japan held off from taking fresh steps to curb bond market volatility, while Asian shares sagged to a fresh 2013 low as China growth worries and continued uncertainty over the U.S. bond-buying program depressed sentiment.

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Gold Falls Most in Two Weeks on Fed Stimulus Speculation

By Debarati Roy & Joe Richter

Gold futures slumped the most in two weeks as U.S. consumer confidence climbed in May to the highest in almost six years, stoking concern that the Federal Reserve may scale back monetary stimulus.

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Junk Bonds Get Destroyed at the Close

Stocks finished lower on Friday following the release of a mixed batch of economic data.

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Morgan Stanley’s Hadden Barred From CME Trading for 10 Days

By Michael J. Moore

Morgan Stanley (MS)’s head of interest-rates trading, Glenn Hadden, was suspended from accessing all CME Group Inc. trading floors for 10 days to resolve claims tied to his 2008 transactions in Treasury futures.

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Asian Stocks Decline as Japan Enters Correction on Fed

By Yoshiaki Nohara

Asian stocks fell for a second week, with the regional benchmark index capping the first monthly loss in seven months, amid concern the Federal Reserve will scale back its stimulus, causing interest rates to rise. Shares in Japan, the world’s best performing major market, entered a correction as the yen rose.

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The 100% Stock Solution

BY LIAM PLEVEN

Most investors hold a mix of stocks and bonds, hoping for both growth and safety. Then there are people like Daniel White.

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Goldman unveils checks on conflicts in bid to fix image

By Lauren Tara LaCapra

SALT LAKE City (Reuters) - After dozens of meetings with executives and regulators, 100,000 hours of employee training and an immeasurable amount of public grief, Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (GS.N) Lloyd Blankfein claimed success in putting the bank and his legacy as CEO back on track.

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WTI Crude Falls a Fourth Day for Biggest Weekly Drop in a Month

By Ben Sharples

West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a fourth day, extending the biggest weekly drop in more than a month, amid signs of rising U.S. fuel supplies and a global economic slowdown.

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Bass Sees BOJ Bond Purchases Overwhelmed as Investors Dump Debt

By Rocky Swift

J. Kyle Bass, whose Hayman Advisors LP made $500 million amid the U.S. subprime crisis, said the Bank of Japan will have to “dramatically” increase bond-buying efforts that have been “overwhelmed” by investors selling.

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Icahn seeks up to $7 billion for Dell bid

By Michelle Sierra

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activist investor Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management Inc have initiated talks with banks and asset managers to line up commitments for as much as $7 billion in bridge loans to back their leveraged recapitalization proposal for Dell Inc, banking sources told Thomson Reuters LPC on Thursday.

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Gold Heads for Best Week in a Month as Investors Weigh Stimulus

By Phoebe Sedgman

Gold swung between gains and losses as investors weighed speculation the Federal Reservewill maintain its record stimulus against a continuing decline in investor assets. Prices headed for the best week in a month.

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Wall Street sags, but ends off session lows; HP hits 52-week high

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slipped on Thursday but finished sharply off their session lows as a rally in Hewlett-Packard's shares offset worries about weak Chinese manufacturing data and the prospects of the Federal Reserve reducing its monetary stimulus.

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Asian Stocks Drop as Yen Gains After Kuroda Comments

By Adam Haigh

Asian stocks fell, with the region’s benchmark index set for its biggest weekly loss in a year, as the yen strengthened after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank had announced sufficient stimulus.

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Asia Pacific IPOs in busiest deal week since 2011

* Sinopec Engineering raises $1.8 bln

* APPT raises $1.14 bln

* All three large IPOs this week priced near the bottom

By Elzio Barreto and Yantoultra Ngui

HONG KONG/KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 (Reuters) - IPO markets in Asia Pacific had their best week in two years after Chinese refiner Sinopec Group's engineering unit and a Macquarie Group Ltd-linked trust raised a combined $2.9 billion on Thursday.

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Lacker says Fed should get out of mortgage market

By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - An improving U.S. housing market suggests it is time for the Federal Reserve to stop aiming its stimulus at the real estate sector, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said on Wednesday.

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apan GDP Jumps Most in Year as Consumers Open Wallets: Economy

By Toru Fujioka & James Mayger 

Japan’s economy expanded the most in a year last quarter as consumer spending and export gains outweighed the weakest business investment since the wake of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

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How the Obama Scandals Could Hurt Financial Markets

By Rick Newman | The Exchange

It’s not exactly a Watergate moment (not yet, anyway), but the mounting controversies engulfing President Obama may mark the most difficult patch of his presidency to date. And they could eventually undermine the economy while rattling financial markets as well.

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