(Reuters) - Underwriters for the planned $9 billion stock sale by American International Group Inc (AIG.N) and the Treasury have indications of interest from investors for about half the offering, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Most of the indications of interest came in at an average price of about $30 a share -- above the U.S. Treasury's break-even price of $28.72 per share -- the Journal reported. AIG shares closed down 2.4 percent at $30.42 on Friday.

• Read more

(Reuters) - News and data provider Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO) should work to resolve a probe into the codes it allocates to company shares after rival S&P offered a fees cap to settle its own case, the EU's competition chief said on Monday. "I take this opportunity to encourage the company to work with us for a speedy resolution of the case," European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told a conference at the Cass Business School in London.

• Read more

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks briefly pared losses on Friday after data showed U.S. consumer sentiment rose more than expected in the early part of May. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 23.12 points, or 0.18 percent, at 12,672.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 1.73 points, or 0.13 percent, at 1,346.92. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 7.57 points, or 0.26 percent, at 2,855.47.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Inflation hit the highest level in 2-1/2 years as food and energy prices moved higher, but there was little sign of a broader pick-up in inflation that would trouble the Federal Reserve. The Labor Department said on Friday its Consumer Price Index increased 0.4 percent in April from March after rising 0.5 percent in March. The rise, which was in line with economists' expectations, took the year-on-year inflation reading to 3.2 percent, the highest since October 2008.

• Read more

(Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group said it told its board in July 2009 that it had transferred ownership of its online e-commerce business to Chief Executive Jack Ma, rejecting allegations by major shareholder Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) that it had been blindsided by the deal. Yahoo, which owns 43 percent of Alibaba Group and holds a board seat, said on Thursday that it had not been informed of the deal until March 2011.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) declared its first dividend in more than two years on Friday, announcing it will pay a penny per share on June 17. The third-largest U.S. bank, which needed $45 billion in U.S. government bailouts to survive the financial crisis, said in March it planned to reinstate a 1-cent quarterly dividend, after shrinking its number of shares outstanding with a 1-for-10 reverse stock split.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Economists have become less optimistic about the U.S. growth outlook but slightly more upbeat about the job market, though employment is still seen recovering only slowly from a deep slump. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's second-quarter survey of forecasters showed a median growth forecast of 3.2 percent for the current quarter, down from estimates for a 3.5 percent increase in the poll taken in the first quarter.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Schneider Electric SA (SCHN.PA) is in talks with private-equity firms about partnering on a $30 billion plus bid of Tyco International Ltd (TYC.N), less than a month after the French company had ruled out the takeover, the New York Post said citing sources. Last month, people familiar with the matter had told Reuters France's Schneider held early discussions about buying the Tyco. But, Schneider's CEO had later ruled out a deal of that size.

• Read more

(Reuters) - U.S. consumer sentiment improved in early May, as optimism about jobs reduced the pinch from high gasoline and food prices, a survey released on Friday showed. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's survey of consumers showed the preliminary May reading on the overall index came in at 72.4, its highest since February, up from 69.8 in April.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Powerful performances by the German and French economies propelled growth in the euro zone well above forecasts in the first quarter while also highlighting the yawning gap between the bloc's strong and weak. The 17-nation currency area expanded by 0.8 percent in the first three months of the year, data showed on Friday, fueled by startling 1.5 percent GDP growth in Germany, while the French economy grew 1.0 percent, driven in part by consumer demand.

• Read more