(Reuters) - Federal bankruptcy judges in Delaware are due to hold separate hearings Monday on requests by two defunct subprime mortgage lenders to destroy thousands of boxes of original loan documents. The requests, by trustees liquidating Mortgage Lenders Network USA and American Home Mortgage, come despite intense concerns that paperwork critical to foreclosures and securitized investments may be lost.

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(Reuters) - A Morgan Stanley banker named Kamal Ahmed is under investigation by U.S. authorities for leaking information regarding an upcoming takeover that ultimately was passed on to Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people close to the situation. Ahmed is the first Wall Street banker publicly drawn into the investigation into Galleon, whose founder Rajaratnam faces insider trading charges, the Journal said.

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(Reuters) - Packaging and paper company RockTenn Co has agreed to buy bigger rival Smurfit-Stone Container Corp for $3.5 billion in cash and stock seven months after Smurfit emerged from bankruptcy with less debt and higher profit potential. The deal, announced on Sunday, will triple RockTenn's annual revenue to more than $9 billion and make the combined company the second-largest containerboard producer in North America after International Paper Co.

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(Reuters) - Stocks gained on Friday as General Electric Co's (GE.N) earnings bolstered views the recovery was gaining traction and helped set the market back on its up trend after two days of declines. But Google (GOOG.O) pared its earlier gain, briefly turning negative and then edging back up again a day after the world's No. 1 search engine reported earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations. Google's pullback weighed on the Nasdaq.

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(Reuters) - Merrill Lynch's fourth-quarter revenue surged as the No. 2 U.S. brokerage bolstered its ranks of financial advisers and added client assets. Merrill, snapped up by Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) two years ago, said its financial adviser force rose by 22 to 15,498 from the third quarter and was up 2 percent since the end of 2009.

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(Reuters) - The World Trade Organization will issue a confidential final ruling on January 31 concerning European claims that Boeing benefited from unfair aircraft subsidies, sources familiar with the case said on Friday. The report, which will not be made public for several weeks, is the latest round of legal ping-pong between the European Union and United States over mutual claims their aircraft industries have been unfairly shielded from competition.

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(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp, the largest U.S. bank by assets, reported a second straight quarterly loss as mortgage woes continue to saddle the bank with billions in problem home loans. The results highlight the mixed outcome of the two largest bets the bank's former chief executive, Kenneth Lewis, made at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 -- the purchases of Countrywide Financial Inc and Merrill Lynch & Co.

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(Reuters) - General Electric Co reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, helped by the recovery of its finance arm and its first rise in overall revenue since late 2008. A rebound in demand for railroad locomotives and a rise in sales of medical imaging devices helped the largest U.S. conglomerate top Wall Street's expectations. GE also noted that orders were up 12 percent in the quarter, driving its order backlog to $175 billion.

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(Reuters) - Spain plans a partial state takeover of its weakest savings banks as it seeks to reassure investors a rescue will not weigh on its deficit, sources and reports said on Friday. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the government would force debt-laden regional savings banks to become conventional banks and seek stock market listings to persuade skittish investors that they are good investments.

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(Reuters) - Shares in Warner Music Group climbed over 20 percent in premarket trade on Friday. The world's No. 3 music company is looking for potential buyers and Goldman Sachs is advising on the process, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Warner Music shares were up 20.6 percent in premarket trade on Friday.

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