(Reuters) - Hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, absent for three days from his trial on insider trading charges because of a foot infection, returned to the New York courthouse on Friday wearing a blue vinyl medical shoe. Rajaratnam, 53, had emergency surgery on Sunday for a bacterial infection on his right foot and received permission from the judge to remain home when the jury deliberated on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

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(Reuters) - The top U.S. securities regulator on Friday called for a broad reassessment of high-frequency trading on the one-year anniversary of the so-called "flash crash" of 2010. "We need to assess the entire regulatory structure surrounding high frequency trading firms and their algorithms," said U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro at a funds conference.

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(Reuters) - Sony Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer apologized to users of its PlayStation Network and other online services, breaking his silence on the biggest Internet security break-in ever. Stringer's comments, which did not specify when services would resume, come after criticism of his leadership since Sony revealed hackers had compromised the data of more than 100 million accounts used for accessing games and music over the Internet.

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(Reuters) - Constellation Energy Group (CEG.N), which has agreed to be bought by Exelon Corp (EXC.N), posted lower-than-expected first quarter earnings as severe weather in Texas knocked two power plants offline. Net income fell to $70.4 million, or 35 cents per share, from $191.5 million, or 95 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, earnings of 63 cents per share, below 96 cents that analysts had on average forecast, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

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ST. LOUIS, May 5 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) - The Justice Department's money-laundering probe against banking giant HSBC Holdings Plc is looking at possible prosecution of individual bankers, a source close to the investigation said on Thursday. The source, who has direct knowledge of the probe which was disclosed last year, said it is moving slowly in part because of the close examination for potential individual prosecutions. He did not name any targeted individuals.

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(Reuters) - Spain's economic recovery remained fragile at the start of the year, despite a pick up in exports and more people coming to its beaches, and doubts persist over the country's ability to grow fast enough to reduce its debt burden. In a monthly report the Bank of Spain said the economy would grow by 0.2 percent in the first quarter of the year on a quarterly basis, the same as the last three months of 2010.

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(Reuters) - Oil prices seesawed on Friday turning positive on better than expected U.S. jobs data, which eased fears about global economic recovery that led to a 10-percent price crash the previous day. A report on U.S. payrolls showed private jobs had increased the most in 11 months, beating analysts' expectations and spurring an upturn in oil prices.

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(Reuters) - The S&P 500 turned higher and the Dow cut losses at midday on Thursday as oil prices fell sharply. The Nasdaq added to gains. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 22.25 points, or 0.17 percent, at 12,701.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 0.63 points, or 0.05 percent, at 1,347.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC rose 17.33 points, or 0.61 percent, at 2,845.56.

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(Reuters) - General Motors Co posted stronger-than-expected quarterly profit, driven by a recovery in the U.S. market and strong sales in Asia, but vehicle prices disappointed analysts and its shares fell 3 percent, Quarterly net profit more than tripled from a year ago and its operating profit narrowly beat expectations.

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(Reuters) - Faltering economic growth and edginess about the impact of costly oil fueled a fourth day of aggressive selling across commodities as Brent crude headed to its biggest weekly fall in a year while silver extended an historic slide. The 19-commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a global benchmark for the asset class, has so far shed over 6 percent since the end of last week and dropped 3.75 percent on Thursday.

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