Securities Services

(Reuters) - Moody's warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system.

New claims for US unemployment benefits fell last week to their lowest level since March 2008, official data showed Thursday in a fresh sign of improvement in the troubled job market.

Top French bank Societe Generale reported a 39-percent slump in 2011 net profit on Thursday, reflecting a radical balance sheet clear-out of bad debt from Greece and the US subprime home loan crisis.

French banking giant Societe Generale said Thursday its 2011 net profit slumped 39 percent after taking provisions of 890 million euros on its Greek exposure and a weaker investment bank performance.

The former president of under-fire Olympus has been arrested in Tokyo, prosecutors said Thursday, the latest twist in one of the biggest ever financial scandals to rock corporate Japan.

PARIS (Reuters) - Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>, France's second-biggest listed bank, said on Thursday quarterly profit slumped by a worse-than-expected 88.6 percent, hit by toxic assets at its investment bank and further write-downs on its Greek sovereign debt.

The former president of under-fire Olympus has been arrested in Tokyo, prosecutors said Thursday, in one of the biggest ever financial scandals to rock corporate Japan.

(Reuters) - Moody's Investor Service warned on Thursday it could downgrade the credit ratings of 17 global banks and securities firms due to more fragile funding conditions, increased regulatory burdens and a more difficult operating environment.

(Reuters) - Moody's warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign that the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system.

(Reuters) - Moody's warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign that the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system.

(Reuters) - Moody's warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system.

(Reuters) - Moody's warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system.

(Reuters) - Moody's warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system.

(Reuters) - Moody's warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system.

(Reuters) - For years, Craig McCann played a prominent role as a top expert witness, his testimony helping to win millions of dollars for investors who sued financial companies.

(Reuters) - For years, Craig McCann played a prominent role as a top expert witness, his testimony helping to win millions of dollars for investors who sued financial companies.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When it comes to hiring top commodity traders, what goes around comes around. Wall Street, after years of poaching the best and brightest from specialized commodity firms, is losing the war to keep the essential traders who know how to arbitrage copper or store crude .

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When it comes to hiring top commodity traders, what goes around comes around. Wall Street, after years of poaching the best and brightest from specialized commodity firms, is losing the war to keep the essential traders who know how to arbitrage copper or store crude .

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group <GS.N> said on Monday that George Mattson, a co-head of the firm's global industrials group, will retire after an 18-year career at the investment bank.

SEOUL (Reuters) - Prudential Financial Inc <PRU.N>, the No.2 U.S. life insurer, has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch <BAC.N> to advise on its possible bid for ING Groep NV's <ING.AS> Asian insurance operations, South Korean media reported, in what is potentially Asia's second-biggest insurance sale ever.