(Reuters) - The London Stock Exchange is to buy Canada's TMX to claw back lost market share and create the world's fourth-largest bourse trading $4.1 trillion of stock a year. Shares in the LSE, first established in 1698, jumped 9 percent as markets welcomed the all-share deal, and indicating a per share valuation for TMX of C$46.7, up 16 percent. The deal would create the No. 1 global center of mining and energy stock trading and values the Toronto group at about $3.2 billion.

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(Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday that the bipartisan cooperation that sparked the tax deal at the end of last year was an important contributor to business confidence. "The job of government is to create the conditions for businesses to expand and to thrive and what we need to do in Washington is make sure we're creating a better environment for business to act with a little more confidence about the future," he said at an event sponsored by The Atlantic magazine.

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(Reuters) - In Chester County, South Carolina, off a dirt road in the middle of a field, insurance companies are literally unleashing a storm. To simulate hurricane-like conditions, an industry group has built a wind tunnel big enough to accommodate nine large residential homes. Some 105 fans deliver gusts of 175 miles per hour, destroying dwellings built precisely for this purpose.

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(Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Tuesday after an interest rate hike by China raised worries about global demand and weighed on energy shares. The S&P energy index .GSPE fell 0.9 percent. Following Monday's gains, which helped the benchmark breach a resistance level at 1,313, the S&P 500 faces resistance around 1,325 with near-term support at 1,300 and 1,295.

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(Reuters) - Three hedge fund managers and a hedge fund analyst will be charged with insider trading, U.S. prosecutors said on Tuesday, the latest development in a broad probe of funds' trading activities. The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan said a press conference would be held at noon to announce the charges. FBI and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials were also scheduled to attend.

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(Reuters) - China raised interest rates on Tuesday for the second time in just over six weeks, intensifying a battle in the fast-expanding economy against stubbornly high inflation that threatens to unsettle global markets. The timing was a surprise, coming on the final day of China's Lunar New Year holiday, but investors have long expected more monetary tightening as Beijing struggles to rein in price pressures and ward off a property bubble in an economy that grew at a double-digit pace last year.

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(Reuters) - The Obama administration is considering reducing government support for the mortgage market to below 50 percent over time, according to sources familiar with a White House proposal to revamp the housing finance system. The administration is under pressure to figure out what to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled companies that provide liquidity to the mortgage market by buying mortgages from lenders and repackaging them as securities.

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(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should seriously consider pulling back on its $600 billion stimulus program given stronger growth and a brighter jobs picture, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said on Tuesday. Despite a report last week showing only 36,000 jobs were created in January, Lacker said other measures were pointing to a firmer economic recovery and better employment prospects.

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(Reuters) - Food and beverage company Sara Lee (SLE.N) reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results after sales volume was hurt by price increases meant to buffer soaring commodity costs. The maker of Jimmy Dean sausages and Senseo coffee saw its shares fall 1.4 percent in premarket trading, even though it affirmed its full-year sales and earnings forecast.

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(Reuters) - General Dynamics Corp's (GD.N) Gulfstream unit said the global business jet market was recovering nicely, particularly outside of North America led by long-range jets. "The demand for long-range jets remains robust because of the rapid expansion of global business ties," Roger Sperry, Gulfstream's senior vice president, international sales, said at a media briefing ahead of the biennial Indian air show in the southern city of Bangalore.

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