en-us Reuters UK) - Britain has warned its EU partners not to stifle the City of London's financial services industry with excessive regulation, responding to concerns that France will push for tighter rules at its expense."London, whether others like it or not, is New York's only rival as...]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:01:25 -0800 Reuters UK) - Bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland Group warned it faces heightened risks and will struggle to hire and retain key staff after the UK government demanded control of bonuses as a condition for insuring its bad debts.RBS, set to become 84 percent state-owned after the...]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:02:31 -0800 Reuters UK) - The top share index shed 0.4 percent by midday on Wednesday, with falls by banks and oils offsetting gains by miners, Vodafone and some defensives.By 11:55 a.m., the FTSE 100 index was 21.22 points lower at 5,290.95 as investors paused for breath after sharp...]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:01:26 -0800 Reuters) - Government-owned Dubai World will meet its main creditors next week to discuss a request to delay payment on $26 billion in debt that has shaken global markets and confidence in the Gulf Arab business hub.The meeting would be the first formal encounter...]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:00:28 -0800 Reuters UK) - Government-owned Dubai World will meet its main creditors next week to discuss a request to delay payment on $26 billion (15.6 billion pounds) in debt that has shaken global markets and confidence in the Gulf Arab business hub.The meeting would be...]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:46:20 -0800 Reuters) - Gold hit record highs at $1,216.75 an ounce in Europe on Wednesday as investors bet on higher prices, with funds lengthening positions due to expectations for a fresh leg of dollar weakness and more central bank buying.The metal also reached all-time highs in euro and...]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:30:36 -0800 Reuters UK) - Dubai World's creditors have formed a committee comprising six banks that will meet with the troubled state-controlled conglomerate next week, a bank executive familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.The committee includes two United Arab Emirates banks UAE and four British banks -- Standard Chartered...]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:00:56 -0800 STAN STAN Reuters UK) - Britain's second-largest customer-owned lender Yorkshire Building Society and loss-making rival Chelsea have agreed to merge, becoming the latest mutuals to join forces after being battered by the financial crisis.The two lenders said the merged group would have assets of 35 billion pounds, more than 2.7 million...]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:46:25 -0800 Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co said on Tuesday that it would fold up 122 California branches due to its takeover of Wachovia Corp last year, the Los Angeles Times reported.The closures, scheduled to occur in April, will involve shutting down 101 Wachovia offices and 21 Wells Fargo locations, the...]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:45:45 -0800 WB WFC WB,WFC Reuters) - Dubai World's creditors have formed a committee comprising six banks that will meet with the troubled state-controlled conglomerate next week, a bank executive familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.The committee includes two United Arab Emirates banks UAE and four British banks -- Standard Chartered STAN,...]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:45:23 -0800 STAN STAN Reuters UK) - The Treasury looks set to clash with some institutional shareholders of the Royal Bank of Scotland RBS after it took control of the banks' bonus pool, The Times reported on Wednesday.The Treasury has demanded the right to control the "quantum and shape" of 2009 bonuses at...]]> Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:15:21 -0800 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:25:00 -0800 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:06:00 -0800 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:03:50 -0800 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:29:09 -0800 CMCSA GE CMCSA,GE Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:52:00 -0800 Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve must be prepared to raise interest rates if needed before the jobless rate has fallen to an "acceptable level", or risk losing its inflation-fighting credibility, a senior Fed official said on Tuesday.Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser said...]]> Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:45:46 -0800 Reuters UK) - The economy is likely to recover strongly in the coming years, though there is a risk the Bank of England's asset purchase policy may prove ineffective, central bank policymaker Adam Posen said on Tuesday.Posen, speaking to reporters after delivering a speech...]]> Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:00:50 -0800 Reuters UK) - Barclays completed the sale of its asset management arm to U.S. fund manager BlackRock on Tuesday for $15.2 billion (9.1 billion pounds), or $1.7 billion more than when it struck the deal in June after a jump in BlackRock's share price.Barclays said it would book a...]]> Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:00:47 -0800 BCS BCS Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:00:34 -0800