New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office, which is investigating Wall Street's sales practices in auction-rate securities, told JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wachovia on Monday that it wants to begin settlement talks immediately.

Swiss bank UBS has agreed to buy back $19.4 billion of debt securities whose value collapsed during the global financial crisis and to pay $150 million in fines to settle charges it misled investors, Massachusetts' top securities regulator said.

Citigroup will buy back more than $7 billion in auction-rate securities and pay $100 million in fines as part of settlements with federal and state regulators, who said the bank marketed the investments as safe despite liquidity risks.

Stocks ended near session lows as oil ended above $120 a barrel and two Dow components missed the Street's targets.

A lawsuit against UBS alleging that the Swiss bank engaged in fraud related to holdings of a fund in loss-making company Endwave was dismissed by a New York Supreme Court judge, court documents showed.

A U.S. Senate subcommittee accused banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein of helping wealthy Americans evade billions in taxes each year, and urged the establishment of tougher laws to combat offshore tax havens around the world.

UBS is no longer providing offshore banking and securities services to U.S. residents through its branches in Switzerland, the bank says, responding to accusations it helped wealth Americans avoid paying taxes when setting up accounts there.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed a civil lawsuit on Thursday against UBS, accusing the Swiss bank of steering customers into auction-rate securities that this year became impossible to cash out of amid the credit crunch.

New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo is preparing to file civil securities-fraud charges against UBS, possibly as early as this week, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.

Swiss bank UBS will discontinue offshore banking and securities services to U.S. residents through its branches, a UBS executive said Thursday at a congressional hearing on offshore tax havens.

Securities regulators from several states raided the St. Louis headquarters of Wachovia Securities, part of Wachovia, as part of a broad investigation into questionable practices involving auction rate securities, Missouri officials said.

British mortgage bank Bradford & Bingley won shareholder backing for a 400 million pound rights issue rescue but not until executives were quizzed on the troubled fundraising and the lender's future.

A U.S. Senate subcommittee accused banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein of helping wealthy Americans evade billions in taxes each year, and urged the establishment of tougher laws to combat offshore tax havens around the world.

The SEC issued its emergency ruling against naked short-selling Tuesday to build investor confidence regarding market information, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox told CNBC.

U.S. securities regulators issued an emergency rule Tuesday to limit certain types of short selling in major financial firms, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.