Markets

Overdraft fees, a profit center for banks, are the latest target of a new U.S. financial watchdog, which said Wednesday it would demand data from banks and work to make checking-account statements easier to understand.

Argentina's unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in the fourth quarter as a fast-growing economy continued to add jobs, according to government data.

(Updated with final pricing terms in first two paragraphs.)

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

(Updated with final pricing terms and other detail in first four paragraphs.)

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

The European Commission--the European Union's executive body--is considering extending an agreement that bans Commerzbank AG (CBK.XE) from making any acquisitions, daily newspaper Handelsblatt reports ahead of publication Thursday.

Hedge funds look set to take center stage as European merger-and-acquisition activity starts to pick up after a long drought and as bets on winning prices and bidders trigger dramatic rises in the stock price of target companies.

While most investors realize Iraq is still a dangerous place to travel to, they may not fully grasp the financial risks to trading in the nation’s currency.

The new-issuance market for high-grade corporate bonds is seeing a decent follow up Wednesday after $9.35 billion was priced in a robust start to the shortened week Tuesday.

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Emerging markets will be key as global demand for cocoa continues to grow, while 2011-12 production is likely to be down from a year ago, Goldman Sachs said Wednesday.

California privately placed $1 billion in notes with Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN) and J.P. Morgan & Chase Co. (JPM), in an effort to avert a cash crunch, a spokesman for California Treasurer Bill Lockyer said Wednesday.

Germany's Deutsche Bank AG (DB) Wednesday said it will offer investors of a controversial funds that places bets on the life expectations of a certain group of U.S. citizens.

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The European Investment Bank has priced a $3.5 billion, three-year bond with the following terms, one of the lead managers said Wednesday.

Deutsche Bank AG (DB) has priced its EUR500 million, seven-year, covered bond at 22 basis points over midswaps, one of the banks running the deal said Wednesday.

Norway's Kommunalbanken has priced its GBP200 million, bond maturing in 2015 at 90 basis points over gilts, one of the banks running the deal said Wednesday.

German chemicals company BASF SE (BAS.XE) is increasing the prices of ethanolamines in Europe by EUR70 to EUR90 a metric ton because of higher raw material costs, a spokesman said Wednesday.

A judge on Wednesday said Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) can set aside non-cash assets for disputed claims so it has more cash to pay back other creditors soon, a decision that will give the failed investment bank more money to pay in its initial distribution tentatively set for about the end of the first quarter.

Final binding bids for Edinburgh Airport are due by Friday, April 13 with the field of potential buyers unchanged from an initial round earlier this month, people familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires on Wednesday.

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German retail group Metro AG (MEO.XE) priced a EUR500 million, seven-year bond, one of the banks running the deal said Wednesday.

U.S. companies are dialing back their quarterly profit forecasts at the highest rate since early 2009, driven by unnerving European headlines along with rising commodity and energy costs.