A U.S. congressional panel on Thursday approved a measure to open the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decisions to government audits, a surprise blow to the central bank's efforts to shield its independence and a signal of frustration with the central bank.

Whiel Wall Street profits have rebounded to record levels, the Street is not showing signs yet of a real employment recovery.    

Some of Goldman Sachs Group's largest shareholders have asked the company to cut the size of its bonus pool and pass along more of its profits to investors, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

The state-owned Korea Development Bank (KDB) will "aggressively" consider buying Korea Exchange Bank a media report quoted KDB CEO as saying, in his first public expression of interest in the domestic rival.

Banks that are considered too large to fail should be dismantled rather than "coddled," Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher said on Thursday.

Wall Street firms have started bring new workers on board, but executives claim they can't find top talent despite the thousands of professionals out of work.

In another sign that the government's emergency financial programs are being reeled in, the Treasury Department said Thursday it will auction off warrants for three banks that it acquired as part of last fall's bailouts.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday that no financial firm should be able to escape regulation, and the largest institutions need oversight from a single, strong regulator.

The coroner’s report left no doubt as to the cause of death: toxic loans. That was the conclusion of a financial autopsy that federal officials performed on Haven Trust Bank, a small bank in Duluth, Ga., that collapsed last December, the New York Times reported.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is beefing up in Europe by buying the half of Cazenove it does not already own in a deal valuing the 190-year old UK stockbroker at 2 billion pounds ($3.4 billion).

The number of U.S.-dollar millionaires in China is expected to nearly double in five years, luring private bankers eager to help them invest an expected combined wealth over $7.6 trillion by 2013, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said on Thursday.

Shares of Bank of America stock rose more than 3.5 percent Wednesday after billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson told investors that he expects the stock price to almost double in the next two years.

In a report released Tuesday by the comptroller of New York State, Wall Street profits in 2009 are on track to exceed the record set three years ago, reports the New York Times.

Goldman Sachs could have suffered dramatic losses if the federal government had not intervened to prop up American International Group, according to a government report.

Citigroup says its chief financial officer and co-head of global markets are getting raises, while CEO Vikram Pandit will continue to collect a salary of $1 per year.