Stocks and the U.S. dollar tumbled on Monday as Lehman Brothers was expected to file for bankruptcy, leading to grave uncertainties about other banks and shaken confidence in the financial system, and sending safe-haven Treasury debt and gold prices soaring. U.S. stock market futures were down more than 3 percent, pointing to sharply lower open,

Bank of America Corp said it agreed to buy Merrill Lynch & Co Inc in an all-stock deal worth $50 billion, snagging the world's largest retail brokerage after one of the worst-ever weekends on Wall Street. The deal came after tense negotiations over the fate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, which triggered concern that market

The ruptured U.S. financial system faces an unprecedented shakeup with Lehman Brothers set to file for bankruptcy, Bank of America buying Merrill Lynch, and the Federal Reserve saying for the first time it will accept stocks in exchange for cash loans. On a black Sunday for Wall Street, 10 of the world's biggest banks also

The outlook for the global reinsurance sector remains stable, says Moody's Investors Service in a new Industry Outlook. Following two years of strong profitability and enhanced risk management processes, the industry's robust capital position places it on solid footing to confront both softening underwriting conditions, the challenges posed by continuing capital market turbulence and the

GDF Suez – holding 30% in a consortium with Marubeni Corporation (30%), Kansai Electric Power Co. (15%), Kyushu Electric Power Co. (15%) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (10%) – has taken over all of the shareholding of Temasek Holdings in Senoko Power, Singapore's largest power generator with a 30% market share. Senoko owns and

Ericsson and Dutch mobile network operator KPN have signed a contract for hosted mobile advertising to manage and deliver targeted advertisements to be displayed on mobile phones and other devices. The hosted service enables KPN to deliver targeted advertisements based on consumer preferences to individual network users via mobile internet pages and various messaging services.

Total sales at U.S. retailers in August fell for a second month in a row, according to a government report on Friday that showed consumers were coming under increasing pressure amid rising prices. Sales dropped 0.3% in August to a seasonally adjusted $381.17 bln after a sharply revised 0.5% drop in July that previously was

Deutsche Bank swooped on rival Deutsche Postbank with a deal worth up to $13 bln that could give it control of Germany's biggest retail lender within three years. It is the second bumper all-German banking deal in as many weeks after Commerzbank bought Dresdner Bank. The sale promises a windfall for shareholders in Deutsche Post,

Expectations that a deal will emerge to save Lehman Brothers mounted on Friday after its plunging share price prompted intensive talks with U.S. officials about rescue options. Lehman's shares added 4% to $4.40 in pre-market trading in New York as talk swirled that the bank would put out a statement before Wall Street opens. Lehman