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• Wall Street flat as durables data offsets oil decline
• JPMorgan: Corzine assured it on MF Global transfers
• Google proposes Android revenue slice for Oracle: filing
• Durable goods orders hint at weak first quarter
• German, UK car plants in balance as Opel board meets
• Goldman weighs leadership change, strikes union deal
• Magic Johnson group to buy Dodgers for record $2 billion
• France discussing strategic oil release with UK, U.S.
• Russia sells $7 billion in Eurobonds, meets 2012 target
• Brazil oil workers sue Chevron over spill
• Amylin rejected $3.5 billion Bristol offer: Bloomberg
• Analysis: Europe's reform drive risks running out of steam
• Banks find opportunity in Postal Service woes
• Brazil oil workers file lawsuit against Chevron
• UK faces bigger hill to climb after fourth-quarter GDP cut
• Apple offers refund to Australian buyers of new iPad
• MF Global executive details scramble for funds
• Analysis: Libya's oil contracts to be unsure for months more
• Exclusive: Goldman's European derivatives revenue soars
• Total still trying to identify cause of North Sea leak
• TV piracy claims heap more pressure on Murdoch empire
• Closure fears tarnish Opel plants' golden anniversary
• Abu Dhabi royals involved in RBS talks: sources
• Volcker rule could raise energy prices, study says
• Analysis: How AIG will - or won't - generate a bailout profit
• Bank of America plans international advisory board: sources
• 2011 disaster losses cost insurers $116 billion: Swiss Re
• SocGen says investment bank deleveraging continues
• MF Global executive details scramble for funds
• Strike actions at BHP coal mines to escalate: union
• Spain edges toward economic abyss amid Europe woes
• Materials lead US stocks lower as commodities dip
• More US CEOs plan to hire as outlook brightens
• UK government feels the heat on Cornish pasty tax
• Oil prices fall as supplies grow
• US stocks fall as traders wait for Europe news
• Some justices seem open to saving parts of law
• Lunch-goers by the hundreds bust a move in Sweden
• Bipartisan group offers alternative to GOP budget
• US crude oil supplies grow by 7.1 million barrels

Wall Street flat as durables data offsets oil decline Posted: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were flat on Wednesday as a weaker-than-expected reading on durable goods orders offset hopes that high oil prices could fall, removing a headwind to the economic recovery. U.S. crude oil futures fell nearly 2 percent after a French newspaper reported several governments, including the United States, were considering the release of oil reserves to ease high prices at the pump, which are seen as an obstacle to an economic recovery. New orders for U.S. ...

JPMorgan: Corzine assured it on MF Global transfers Posted: (Reuters) - Former MF Global Holdings Ltd Chief Executive Jon Corzine assured JPMorgan Chase & Co shortly before his brokerage firm collapsed that it had ample funds to cover overdrafts, a lawyer for the bank is expected to testify. The testimony by Diane Genova, JPMorgan's deputy general counsel, before a House subcommittee hearing later on Wednesday may shed further light on a $175 million transfer by MF Global to a JPMorgan account on October 28, three days before MF Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. ...

Google proposes Android revenue slice for Oracle: filing Posted: (Reuters) - Google is willing to pay Oracle a percentage of Android revenue on two patents if Oracle succeeds in proving patent infringement at an upcoming trial over the Java programming language, according to a court filing. However, Oracle says the proposed damages from Google are too low, according to the document, which the parties filed jointly. Google proposed to pay Oracle roughly $2.8 million in damages on two patents, covering the period through 2011. For future damages, Google proposed to pay Oracle 0.5 percent of Android revenue on one patent until it expires this December and 0. ...

Durable goods orders hint at weak first quarter Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for long-lasting U.S. factory goods posted only a moderate increase in February, supporting the view that economic growth in the first quarter was shaping up to be lackluster. Durable goods orders increased 2.2 percent last month, missing economists' forecasts and only partially reversing January's revised 3.6 percent decline, Commerce Department data showed on Wednesday. A gauge of future business investment also fell short of forecasts. ...

German, UK car plants in balance as Opel board meets Posted: FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The board of European carmaker Opel met on Wednesday under pressure from parent General Motors to put an end to years of steep losses, with thousands of workers in Germany and Britain fearing the closure of their plants. The 20-person board, which includes United Auto Workers boss Bob King for the first time, was scheduled to begin meeting at Opel's headquarters in Ruesselsheim at around 0900 GMT and last into late afternoon. ...

Goldman weighs leadership change, strikes union deal Posted: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Senior executives within Goldman Sachs have talked about splitting the roles of chief executive officer and chairman, two sources said, although pressure for any imminent move appears to have eased after a deal with a labor union pension fund. Proposals to separate the CEO and chairman roles have long been sought by outside groups, but two people familiar with management thinking provided the first indication that internal discussions about such a move have taken place. Under a restructure, President Gary Cohn would take the chief executive officer role and Vice Chairman ...

Magic Johnson group to buy Dodgers for record $2 billion Posted: LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A group spear-headed by former basketball great Earvin "Magic" Johnson agreed to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team for a record $2 billion, team owner Frank McCourt announced on Tuesday, capping a two-year drama that started with McCourt's divorce and wound its way through bankruptcy court. The buyers under the deal, unveiled hours before the storied franchise was scheduled to hold an auction with three bidders, were led by the investment banking firm Guggenheim Partners. Mark R. ...

France discussing strategic oil release with UK, U.S. Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - France is in talks with the United States and Britain on a possible release of strategic oil stocks to push fuel prices lower, French ministers said on Wednesday, four weeks before the country's presidential election. Earlier in March, British sources said London was prepared to cooperate with Washington on a release of strategic oil stocks that was expected within months, in a bid to prevent fuel prices choking economic growth in what is also a U.S. election year. ...

Russia sells $7 billion in Eurobonds, meets 2012 target Posted: MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia hit its foreign currency borrowing target for 2012 when it drew strong demand for $7 billion in Eurobonds on Wednesday, in the biggest hard currency denominated issue from an emerging market country since 2000. Russia was able to sell at the bottom of its previously-announced yield guidance to investors who are currently attracted by the country's strong oil earnings. "The Eurobond placement could be considered as a real success," said Nikolai Podguzov, head of fixed income research at VTB Capital. ...

Brazil oil workers sue Chevron over spill Posted: RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil's largest oil workers union filed a lawsuit against U.S. oil company Chevron and drilling firm Transocean that seeks to cancel their rights to operate in the country as the result of an offshore oil spill last November. The case, brought by the FUP oil workers federation in Brazilian federal court, raises the legal and political stakes for Chevron and Transocean which are already fighting criminal and civil cases related to the spill. ...

Amylin rejected $3.5 billion Bristol offer: Bloomberg Posted: (Reuters) - Shares of Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc rose as much as 51 percent on Wednesday after Bloomberg News reported the company rejected a $3.5 billion unsolicited takeover bid from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co . Bristol-Myers proposed an acquisition at $22 a share in a letter to Amylin, which the board turned down last month, according to Bloomberg, which cited two people with knowledge of the matter. Bloomberg said Bristol-Myers has not approached Amylin, which makes the diabetes drugs Byetta and Bydureon, since the rejection. ...

Analysis: Europe's reform drive risks running out of steam Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - European leaders are caught between former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's injunction "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste" and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker's admission that "We all know what to do. We just don't know how to get re-elected after we've done it." Signs of reform fatigue are growing in euro zone countries as bond market pressure for a radical budget and economic overhaul has eased slightly. ...

Banks find opportunity in Postal Service woes Posted: (Reuters) - The bank industry, struggling to make the profits it used to, is using the struggles of another industry for its marketing: The Postal Service. JPMorgan Chase & Co , Bank of America Corp , Citigroup Inc and Wells Fargo & Co are all using the looming threat of postal service cuts to sell bank services such as electronic payments and remittance pickups that can speed payments likely to be slowed by diminished mail service. "It is a conversation starter," said Daniel Peltz, head of Wells Fargo's Treasury Management division. ...

Brazil oil workers file lawsuit against Chevron Posted: RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil's largest oil workers union filed a civil lawsuit against oil company Chevron and drilling firm Transocean that seeks to cancel their rights to operate in the offshore oil field where they suffered an oil spill last November. The case, brought by the FUP oil workers federation in federal court, raises the stakes for Chevron and Transocean , which are already fighting criminal and civil charges in Brazil that could carry jail terms for their employees and damages of about $11 billion. ...

UK faces bigger hill to climb after fourth-quarter GDP cut Posted: LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's economy shrank by more than expected in the last three months of 2011 than previously thought, driven down by a weaker services sector, official data showed on Wednesday. The Office for National Statistics said the economy contracted by 0.3 percent between October and December last year, taking the annual rate of growth to 0.5 percent. Economists had expected unrevised readings of -0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter and 0.7 percent year-on-year. ...

Apple offers refund to Australian buyers of new iPad Posted: MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Apple Inc will email all buyers of its new iPad in Australia to offer them a refund, a lawyer for the company said on Wednesday, after the nation's consumer watchdog accused it of misleading advertising over one key aspect of the product. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken legal action to ensure Apple makes consumers aware its third-generation iPad cannot connect to a 4G mobile data network in Australia due to technical incompatibility. ...

MF Global executive details scramble for funds Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - MF Global's North America chief financial officer plans to tell lawmakers on Wednesday that she desperately sought fund transfers to cover the customer account shortfall in the final hours before the firm's collapse, but that some banks would not execute them. In prepared testimony, Christine Serwinski also said she was convinced at first that the roughly $1 billion deficit in customer funds had to be an accounting error and only learned on the morning of the bankruptcy that the shortfall was real. ...

Analysis: Libya's oil contracts to be unsure for months more Posted: LONDON (Reuters) - Uncertainty about oil and gas companies' contracts with Libya, soon to be scrutinized and potentially revised, will persist until new leaders take power after June elections, delaying the industry's return to normal in the post-Gaddafi era. The transitional government has set up a special committee to investigate allegations of widespread corruption in the oil industry before the revolution unseated Muammar Gaddafi. Its determinations could lead to the withdrawal or reworking of now lucrative deals in the OPEC member, which has Africa's largest crude oil reserves. ...

Exclusive: Goldman's European derivatives revenue soars Posted: (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's first-quarter earnings are expected to benefit from the increased use of derivatives by European clients seeking ways to hedge risk, according to an internal report seen by Reuters. Revenue at Goldman's investment bank in Europe increased by 8 percent from the year-ago period to $476 million, the report said. A big driver was derivatives that clients, corporations and financial institutions used to hedge bets in the stock and fixed-income markets. ...

Total still trying to identify cause of North Sea leak Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - Total is still trying to identify the specific cause of a gas leak at its Elgin platform, a spokesman for the company said on Wednesday. "We have not precisely identified the cause of the incident," he said. He added that a solution was still being evaluated and that it " is a question of days" to find one. The French firm had warned on Tuesday it could take six months to halt the flow. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide)

TV piracy claims heap more pressure on Murdoch empire Posted: LONDON/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Pressure is building in Britain and Australia for fresh probes into Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, already under siege over phone-hacking claims, after allegations that it ran a secret unit that promoted pirating of pay-TV rivals. The Australian Financial Review on Wednesday alleged that News Corp had used a special unit, Operational Security, set up in the mid-1990s, to sabotage its competitors, reinforcing claims in a BBC Panorama documentary aired earlier this week. ...

Closure fears tarnish Opel plants' golden anniversary Posted: BOCHUM, Germany/ELLESMERE PORT, England (Reuters) - A golden anniversary is usually cause for celebration, but at General Motors' car plants at Bochum in western Germany and Ellesmere Port in northwest England, the talk is of closure, not their openings in 1962. Economic weakness across much of Europe has hit car sales, forcing the sector to address a capacity overhang. GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson estimates that manufacturers have 10 plants too many across the continent. ...

Abu Dhabi royals involved in RBS talks: sources Posted: ABU DHABI/DUBAI (Reuters) - Talks to sell a stake in Britain's state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland are being held at the level of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, sources told Reuters. A source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday that Amanda Staveley, a businesswoman notable for her Middle Eastern connections, was advising the emirate's rulers. ...

Volcker rule could raise energy prices, study says Posted: (Reuters) - The proposed Volcker rule crackdown on trading and investing by banks could cause gasoline, electricity and natural gas prices to rise, according to a new report. The report, released on Wednesday by business information provider IHS Inc , seeks to gauge the rule's impact on energy companies and markets, including oil refineries, natural gas producers and electricity providers. ...

Analysis: How AIG will - or won't - generate a bailout profit Posted: BOSTON (Reuters) - CEO Bob Benmosche says U.S. taxpayers will earn up to $10 billion on the $182 billion rescue of American International Group , the insurance company he runs. Of course, that depends on how one defines "profit." How much AIG actually borrowed after it was saved from bankruptcy in late 2008, how much it still owes and questions about the point at which the U.S. Treasury breaks even on its shares all complicate any calculation about how much the government will make on the insurer's bailout. ...

Bank of America plans international advisory board: sources Posted: Charlotte, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp is looking to create an international advisory board that could help steer chief executive officer Brian Moynihan's overseas strategy, according to sources familiar with the matter. The panel, which is in an early stage of development, would be similar to the international council at JPMorgan Chase & Co , the sources said. That group is led by former British prime minister, Tony Blair. ...

2011 disaster losses cost insurers $116 billion: Swiss Re Posted: ZURICH (Reuters) - Natural disasters, such as Japan's earthquake and floods in Australia and Thailand, cost the global economy a record $370 billion in 2011, with losses for the insurance industry the second largest ever, Swiss Re said on Wednesday. Insured catastrophe losses more than doubled in 2011 to $116 billion, Swiss Re said on Wednesday in its study of natural catastrophes and man-made disasters. That was up from a December forecast for $108 billion. Munich Re , the world's biggest reinsurer, estimated in January a cost of $105 billion to the insurance industry from natural disasters. ...

SocGen says investment bank deleveraging continues Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - Societe Generale aims to cut the liquidity needs of its corporate and investment bank by 50 to 60 billion euros ($79.93 billion) as it sells more loans, the French bank said on Wednesday in a slide presentation. SocGen, which like other big French banks is aggressively shrinking its balance sheet to meet tougher regulatory requirements and cope with reduced available funding, said it aims to cut its Basel 3 risk-weighted assets by 30 to 40 billion euros. ...

MF Global executive details scramble for funds Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - MF Global's North America chief financial officer plans to tell lawmakers on Wednesday that she desperately sought fund transfers to cover the customer account shortfall in the final hours before the firm's collapse, but that some banks would not execute them. In prepared testimony, Christine Serwinski also said she was convinced at first that the roughly $1 billion deficit in customer funds had to be an accounting error and only learned on the morning of the bankruptcy that the shortfall was real. ...

Strike actions at BHP coal mines to escalate: union Posted: SYDNEY (Reuters) - Union workers will step up industrial action against seven Australian coal mines operated by BHP Billiton , which are among the largest in the world, a union official said on Wednesday. The mines, operated under the BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance joint venture, have a combined output capacity of more than 58 million metric tonnes (63.9 tons) per year, representing about a fifth of annual global trade. ...

Spain edges toward economic abyss amid Europe woes Posted: Investors concerned that Spain is fast becoming Europe's riskiest economic link and could be the next bailout candidate have plenty to worry about this week.

Materials lead US stocks lower as commodities dip Posted: Materials and energy companies are leading U.S. stocks lower at midday as commodity prices fall sharply.

More US CEOs plan to hire as outlook brightens Posted: A growing number of chief executives at large U.S. companies say they are more optimistic about the economy and plan to step up hiring. The brighter view from the boardroom comes after the best three months of job growth in two years.

UK government feels the heat on Cornish pasty tax Posted: The British government's intention to tax the humble Cornish pasty, a cheap pastry savory snack much beloved by workers and students, has opened a new front in the country's never-ending class war.

Oil prices fall as supplies grow Posted: Oil prices are falling because U.S. supplies have increased and Western nations may be considering a release of additional barrels onto the world market.

US stocks fall as traders wait for Europe news Posted: U. S. stocks fell Wednesday as traders looked again to the threat posed by Europe's lingering debt crisis. The decline came in spite of a government report that U.S. factory orders rose strongly last month, a sign that businesses continue to invest.

Some justices seem open to saving parts of law Posted: Several Supreme Court justices seemed receptive Wednesday to the idea that portions of President Barack Obama's health care law can survive even if the court declares the centerpiece unconstitutional.

Lunch-goers by the hundreds bust a move in Sweden Posted: Some workers in Sweden have found a rather offbeat way to spend their lunch hour. Actually, on-beat is more like it.

Bipartisan group offers alternative to GOP budget Posted: A bipartisan budget plan to cut the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years with a mix of new tax revenues and spending cuts across the federal budget is headed for a House vote, but it is likely to be rejected by Republicans against higher hikes and Democrats opposed to curbs on Medicare and Social Security benefits.

US crude oil supplies grow by 7.1 million barrels Posted: The nation's crude oil supplies rose last week, the government said Wednesday.

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