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In his final act before departing the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the agency's inspector general, David Kotz, criticized how the agency analyzes the economic impact of some of its Dodd-Frank ...

Citigroup has cut bonuses for its investment banking division by about 30 percent on average, Bloomberg said, citing a person briefed on the matter. Some businesses within the securities and banking unit ...

Hotel companies and real estate firms are optimistic that deal transactions will pick up this year despite concerns about Europe's economy and challenges in obtaining debt financing. While a business-led ...

January has turned out strong for equities with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace. The new year lured ...

The names of a Goldman Sachs board member and a top executive of Berkshire Hathaway surfaced on Friday as potential witnesses in the insider trading trial of Rajat Gupta, a former director of Goldman, ...

Some of the world's biggest economies want to move quickly on a cash injection for the International Monetary Fund to help rescue the euro zone, but hardliners may still scupper an early deal to boost ...

Germany is pushing for Greece to relinquish control over its budget policy to European institutions as part of discussions over a second rescue package, a European source told Reuters on Friday. "There ...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. is weighing a possible a takeover bid for US Airways Group , according to a report late Friday in the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. Delta reportedly is working with Goldman Sachs Group and Blackstone Group to determine whether US Airways would make a good fit. Delta has yet to approach US Airways, the Journal's sources said, stressing that this is all at a very preliminary stage. US Airways earlier this week confirmed it is considering a bid for bankrupt AMR Corp. , parent of American Airlines. Delta is also seen as a possible bidder for AMR but has declined to comment on its interest in AMR. Delta, the world's second-largest airline by traffic, acquired Northwest Airlines in 2008. US Airways grew to No. 6 through its meger with American West Airlines in 2005, in a major and apparently ongoing consolidation of the U.S. airline industry. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Patriot Bank Minnesota of Forest Lake, Minn., and BankEast of Knoxville, Tenn., were closed by regulators Friday in the sixth and seventh U.S. bank failures of 2012, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said. First Resource Bank of Savage, Minn., will assume all of the deposits of Patriot Bank Minnesota, which had $111.3 million in total assets and $108.3 million in total deposits. U.S. Bank National Association of Cincinnati will assume all of the deposits of BankEast, which had $272.6 million in total assets and $268.8 million in total deposits. The combined hit to the FDIC's deposit-insurance fund will be $108.2 million.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Trade Commission late Friday issued a complaint to block Omnicare Inc.'s hostile acquisition of rival long-term pharmacy provider PharMerica Corp. . The agency alleged the combination "of the two largest U.S. long-term care pharmacies would harm competition and enable Omnicare to raise the price of drugs for Medicare Part D consumers and others." After PharMerica rejected a $456 million bid from Omnicare in August, Omnicare took its offer directly to PharMerica shareholders. PharMerica shares fell 11% after hours.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. late Friday outlined the fourth and fifth bank closures of the year. The deposits of Tennessee Commerce Bank of Franklin, Tenn. have been assumed by Republic Bank & Trust Co. of Louisville, Ky. Tennessee Commerce Bancorp. is the holding company of Tennessee Commerce Bank. Meanwhile, the deposits of First Guaranty Bank and Trust Co. of Jacksonville, Fla. will be assumed by CenterState Banks Inc.'s CenterState Bank of Florida of Winter Haven, Fla. The total cost for the transactions to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $498.8 million, according to the FDIC. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched the offices of New York Global Group, which has advised Chinese companies listing in the U.S. through reverse mergers, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website Friday. James Margolin, an FBI spokesman, told the newspaper that the search was conducted earlier this week in connection with an ongoing investigation but declined to comment on the scope of the probe. Reverse merger is a short-cut method used by some foreign companies to secure U.S. listings by merging with a public shell company rather than go through the more rigorous process of going public.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Money managers turned slightly more optimistic about prospects for oil prices, according to data released late Friday by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Net longs, or bets prices will go higher, rose to 204,044 contracts. That is the largest net risk position since Nov. 15, said in a note Tim Evans, an analyst with Citigroup's Citi Futures Perspective. Net longs reached a record of nearly 321,000 contracts in early 2011. Oil rose 1.3% this week.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Friday finished mostly lower, with the S&P 500 managing to extend its winning streak into a fourth week, with Wall Street hopeful that Greece would reach a debt-restructuring agreement. "Greece we all know, it's just a matter of getting everyone lined up in terms of getting private investors to take a hair cut," said Owen Fitzpatrick, head of the U.S. equity group at Deutsche Bank. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 74.17 points, or 0.6%, to 12,660.46, leaving it down 0.5% for the week, its first weekly drop in four. The S&P 500 shed 2.10 points, or 0.2%, to 1,316.33, but managed to remain 0.1% up from the week-ago close. The Nasdaq Composite added 11.27 points, or 0.4%, to 2,816.55, up 1.1% for the week. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Partners Alkermes PLC and Amylin Pharmaceuticals announced Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved their drug Bydureon for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The product is a once-weekly administered version of Amylin's popular diabetes treatment Byetta. Bydureon will also carry a warning advising that it might cause acute pancreatitis or raise the risk of developing a certain type of thyroid cancer. The FDA was expected to decide on whether to approve the drug by Jan. 28. Shares of both companies were halted Friday afternoon pending an announcement.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures ended a seesawing session in the red Friday, pressured by sharp gains for gasoline and losing its fight to end above $100 a barrel. Crude for March delivery declined 14 cents, or 0.1%, to $99.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. February gasoline rallied 8 cents, or 2.8%, to end at $2.93 a gallon on reports of refinery problems, including a shutdown in a ConocoPhillips refinery in New Jersey. That was gasoline's highest settlement since Aug. 3. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures overcame a weak start to end at a seven-week high on Friday, aided by a lower dollar and safe-haven flows ahead of the weekend and potential for damaging headlines out of the euro zone. Gold for February delivery advanced $5.50, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,732.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was gold's highest settlement since Dec. 7 and one that brought gold's weekly gains to 4.1%. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.