(Reuters) - Molson Coors Brewing Co (TAP.N) said it will buy brewer StarBev from private equity fund CVC Capital Partners CVC.UL for 2.65 billion euros ($3.52 billion) to expand in central and eastern European beer markets. "The acquisition of StarBev fits squarely into Molson Coors' strategy to increase our portfolio of premium brands and deepen our reach into growth markets around the world," Molson Coors' Chief Executive Peter Swinburn said in a statement.

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(Reuters) - Stocks mostly inched higher on Friday as rising energy shares offset early weakness, though the S&P 500 remained on track to break a five-week streak of gains. Equities fell early after data showed a drop in single-family home sales, but a rebound in energy and material shares from their slump in the previous session, helped Wall Street overcome those losses. A rise in crude oil prices gave upside support to the energy sector.

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(Reuters) - New single-family home sales fell in February while prices jumped to their highest level in eight month, according to a government report on Friday that was the latest to paint a mixed picture of the housing market. The Commerce Department said sales slipped 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted 313,000-unit annual rate. January's sales pace was revised down to 318,000 units from the previously reported 321,000 units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 325,000-unit rate in February.

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(Reuters) - If you're waiting for the next meltdown in U.S. stocks or in commodities, you may want to get over it. After several false dawns following the global financial crisis, more investors are starting to believe the current rally in stocks, commodities and emerging markets could be a long-lasting one.

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(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should be wary about "over-committing" to an ultra-easy monetary policy that has served the economy well in recent years but could be detrimental eventually, a top Fed official said on Friday. "Some of the further actions that could be undertaken at this juncture would have effects far into the future, in an environment of continual improvement and repair for the U.S. economy," St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in remarks prepared for delivery at the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.

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(Reuters) - When Anton Marinovich turned 18, his grandmother gave him $1,000 with strict instructions to invest in the stock market. He chose Apple Inc (AAPL.O). Seventeen years later, his investment is worth more than $240,000 and will bring him over $1,000 a quarter through the company's new dividend plan.

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(Reuters) - Investment banks fighting for survival in a world of stricter regulation and more expensive funding are embroiled in a price war as they battle to hang on to clients. Some are offering ultra-low prices across a range of their most prominent activities such as equity and debt sales, advice on mergers and acquisition (M&A), and more arcane - but widely used - derivative instruments.

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(Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday after a 3-day winning streak for the S&P 500 on concerns that China's economy may be slowing down. BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP.AX)(BHP.N), the world's largest mining company, said it saw signs of "flattening" iron ore demand as the government seeks to cool the world's second biggest economy.

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(Reuters) - Permits for homebuilding neared a 3.5-year high in February, suggesting a budding recovery in the housing market was still on track even though groundbreaking activity slipped. New building permits surged 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 units last month, the highest since October 2008, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.

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(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) agreed to pay $150 million to settle a lawsuit by pension funds and other investors accusing the largest U.S. bank of imprudently investing their cash in a risky debt vehicle that collapsed in 2008. The settlement with investors including the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) Retirement Fund was disclosed in filings late Friday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

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