A Reuters report said Alessandro Profumo, chairman of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, will be revealing his decision whether to stay or resign from his post at the Italian lender in a January meeting.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was quoted by German news magazine Spiegel in an interview that there is no need to hurry to reduce the Euro Zone's main interest rate further.

While US and foreign banks do away with risky investments like municipal bonds, hedge funds had taken advantage with the loss of a competitor and increased their positions in such assets, a Barron's report said.

The general consensus of research firms and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) experts believed that the brisk activity of dealmaking will keep its momentum till the next year.

Research firm CB Insights revealed in its latest report that IPO activity will most likely be the most active in the technology sector as over 500 companies have healthy trajectories and high valuations.

Popolare Vicenza Chairman Gianni Zonin told an Italian daily that Banca Popolare di Vicenza intends to grow its branches to a thousand from its current 690 through acquisitions.

Carl Icahn has proposed that Apple increase its stock buyback program to $50 billion but Apple cited reasons why shareholders should not vote for it.

Tim Cook, incumbent chief executive of Apple Inc, has received $4.25 million in salary and bonus for the fiscal year 2013. A proxy filing by Apple also revealed that the tech giant's chief executive did not receive stock-based compensation for the last two fiscal years.

SAC Capital Advisors UK's Massimo Amati, Stanislas de Caumont and Robert Harris have agreed to join rival hedge fund Balyasny Asset Management. Other portfolio managers and analysts are departing SAC after the firm decided to shut down its London office.

Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man with about $22 billion net worth, is set to spend $9 billion to build the largest privately-owned oil refinery in Nigeria.