Reuters - HSBC Holdings (0005.HK) on Thursday denied a South Korean media report saying it had agreed with U.S. private equity firm Lone Star to set a new deadline for a $6.3 billion deal for control of Korea Exchange Bank.

Reuters - McDonald's Corp said on Thursday it was considering further price increases, but would do nothing that slowed customer traffic into its global network of stores.

Reuters - Freddie Mac , one of the major players in the U.S. mortgage market, on Wednesday posted its fourth straight quarterly loss as it braced for a prolonged housing market slump by setting aside twice as much money for bad loans and cutting its dividend by at least 80 percent.

Reuters - American International Group Inc posted its third consecutive quarterly net loss of more than $5 billion on Wednesday as it wrote down bad mortgage-related investments, sending its shares down almost 8 percent.

AP - Retailers preparing for a difficult back-to-school season are getting creative in their attempts to entice shoppers into the stores — aggressively introducing new products, slashing prices and amping up marketing in the battle for parents' bucks.

Reuters - Blackstone Group LP posted a second-quarter loss as tight credit markets curtailed buyouts, but the private equity firm said the choppy economic environment offered some investment opportunities.

Reuters - Yahoo Inc's board confirmed billionaire investor Carl Icahn as a director, while board member Robert Kotick tendered his resignation as part of a previously announced deal, the company said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Time Warner Inc said it would split AOL's dial-up Internet and advertising businesses into separate divisions by early 2009, a move that could make a sale or merger of either business easier.

Reuters - Stocks extended gains on Wednesday as a reassuring outlook from Cisco Systems and a further drop in the price of oil overshadowed nagging concerns about the housing slump.

Reuters - Freddie Mac on Wednesday posted its fourth straight quarterly loss as it braced for a prolonged housing crisis by setting aside twice as much money for bad loans and plans to slash its dividend by at least 80 percent.

Reuters - Cisco Systems Inc posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results and said it expected the weak economic environment to be relatively short term, sending its shares up 7 percent after the market closed on Tuesday.

Reuters - The Federal Reserve held U.S. interest rates steady on Tuesday, expressing concerns about both economic growth and inflation and indicating it is in no rush to push borrowing costs higher.

Reuters - Morgan Stanley told thousands of clients this week that they will not be allowed to withdraw money on their home-equity credit lines, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the situation. Most of the clients had properties that have lost value, the agency reported, citing a person who declined to be identified.