(Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service said it may downgrade the debt ratings of Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc and Wells Fargo & Co, citing concerns about the regulatory environment facing the largest U.S. banks. The ratings agency said on Thursday it placed the deposit, senior debt, and senior subordinated debt ratings of the three banks on review for possible downgrades.

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(Reuters) - New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, but not enough to assuage fears the labor market recovery has taken a step back. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 422,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, less than economists' expectations for a fall to 415,000.

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(Reuters) - Greece intends to present a fresh austerity plan Friday and expects its next aid tranche to flow, a government official said, after Moody's cut the country's credit rating deep into junk territory. The budget plan will include a faster pace of privatization and 6.4 billion euros ($9.2 billion) of new savings including some tax rises, to eat into Greece's debt mountain, the senior official told Reuters Thursday.

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(Reuters) - High prices for food and gasoline, a sluggish economy and picky shoppers going to fewer stores cut into sales at big U.S. retailers in May. Retailers that missed analysts' estimates included Victoria's Secret owner Limited Brands Inc (LTD.N), Target Corp (TGT.N), Gap Inc (GPS.N) and J.C. Penney Co Inc (JCP.N). Overall, sales at stores open at least a year rose 4.9 percent in May at the retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters data, below the 5.4 percent increase that Wall Street expected.

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(Reuters) - The 17-nation euro zone should consider establishing a central finance ministry as it tightens coordination of national economic policies to fight crises, the head of the bloc's central bank said on Thursday. Jean-Claude Trichet, who was accepting the Charlemagne Prize, awarded for contributions to European unity, said the ministry might be created after a long process of transferring oversight of national policy to the zone's central authorities.

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(Reuters) - Russian gas exporter Gazprom, having just signed a trio of deals in India that could be worth over $90 billion, now has it sights on the markets of Europe and North America, a source close to the company said on Thursday. Similar deals are expected to be reached in the near future with a view to selling liquid natural gas (LNG) in both markets, the source said. "In Europe, Gazprom is looking into France and Spain," he said.

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(Reuters) - OPEC is considering raising oil supply targets for the first time since 2007 in a move that could weaken $100 oil prices and lessen the drag of high energy costs on global economic growth. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps more than a third of the world's oil, may raise supply targets by as much as 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) when ministers meet on June 8, two Gulf oil sources told Reuters on Thursday.

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(Reuters) - Private equity firm Gores Group is in talks to buy more than half of bankrupt bookseller Borders Group Inc's (BGPIQ.PK) remaining stores, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Borders, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, would be able to continue operating as a going concern, according to the report.

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(Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday as another round of weak economic data cast doubts on the strength of an economic recovery. The S&P was off more than 1 percent after climbing in the four prior sessions. The gains came even as data showed a decline in growth in the second quarter, a trend supported by Wednesday's private employment and factory activity reports.

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(Reuters) - Nokia on Wednesday declined to comment on a report on website BGR that it was set to begin talks with Microsoft Corp about the possible sale of the Finnish company's cell phone business. Nokia shares turned positive in late trade after falling to their lowest in more than 13 years, after the company warned on Tuesday second-quarter sales would be substantially lower than a previous forecast and abandoned its full-year outlook.

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