VENTURE CAPITAL POST

An upset victory by Israel's centre-left opposition in Tuesday's election could be a welcome change for a business and corporate sector eager for the "peace dividend" that might come with a government willing to talk with the Palestinians.

Bankers running the expected A$3 billion ($2.29 billion) initial public offering of Australian software firm MYOB Ltd, owned by Bain Capital, plan to file a prospectus for the sale by end-March, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) is bringing in Tidjane Thiam, the head of British insurer Prudential (PRU.L), as its new chief executive to help drive the Swiss bank's push into wealth management in emerging markets.

HSBC (HSBA.L), in the spotlight after details emerged about how its Swiss unit allegedly helped clients dodge taxes, isn't the troublemaker it is currently depicted as, the head of a rival private bank was quoted saying on Saturday.

Swiss financial titans UBS and Credit Suisse are expanding their operations in provincial Poland in a cost-saving drive made more urgent by the surge in the value of the Swiss franc.

Mindbody, a company that makes software to help run fitness and yoga studios, has selected banks for a potential initial public offering that could value it at more than $700 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena expects to complete its planned capital increase by July and can use divestments to help plug a hole in its balance sheet, Chairman Alessandro Profumo told an Austrian newspaper.

Standard Chartered (STAN.L) said it is considering replacing its banking advisers, UBS and JPMorgan, and has invited rival investment banks to pitch for the potentially lucrative business.

Charles I. Plosser , President and Chief Executive Officer of Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia spoke on The US Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy at UBS European Conference, London, England today.

British and U.S. regulators are poised to levy hefty fines on leading banks in a landmark settlement after a year-long global investigation of allegations of collusion and manipulation in the foreign exchange market.

A divided U.S. appeals court rejected UBS AG's (UBSN.VX) bid to force Nasdaq OMX Group Inc (NDAQ.O) to arbitrate a dispute over the exchange operator's alleged "catastrophic mismanagement" of Facebook Inc's (FB.O) $16 billion initial public offering.

Even the wildest markets nearly always draw opportunists looking for profitable ways to play them. But recent volatility has hit such a level that the strongest-nerved are thinking twice.

A much-needed pruning of banks across the world could stifle lending and dampen economic recovery, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

UBS said on Monday it was launching a share-for-share exchange to set up a new holding company, UBS Group AG, part of a restructuring drive to ensure it can be broken up more easily in a crisis.

Wall Street executives may have personally escaped the wrath of the U.S. Department of Justice but executives at companies accused of foreign bribery schemes may not be so lucky.