LONDON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs has been fined 20 million pounds ($30.9 million) by the UK's financial regulator for failing to disclose it was under fraud investigation by its U.S. counterpart, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Projected U.S. economic growth for the rest of this year and next was revised down for a third month in a row by a panel of about 50 economists.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's competition regulator blocked National Australia Bank's $12 billion bid for AXA Asia Pacific for a second time, dashing NAB's efforts to cement its dominance in the world's fourth-largest wealth management market.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged up and the yen held below a 15-year high on Thursday, after a small rally on Wall Street driven by successful European bond auctions gave investors an excuse to lighten up on their bets.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Some Chinese cities are preparing fresh property tightening steps as housing transactions and prices show signs of a rebound, reinforcing market expectations that Beijing will not ease its grip on the sector any time soon.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key U.S. banking regulator raised concern on Wednesday about the risk of "exposure" the government is taking on in the mortgage market and urged more stringent standards for underwriting mortgages.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Switzerland remains the world's most competitive economy, while the United States has fallen from second to fourth, according to the World Economic Forum.

LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group is to sell its stake in bank-owned housebuilder Crest Nicholson for 150 million pounds ($232 million), the Financial Times said on Thursday.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - UBS has hired two bankers to join its ultra high net-worth team in Singapore, the bank said in an internal memo.

PARMA, Ohio (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, fighting to keep Democrats in charge of Congress, said on Wednesday the United States could not afford to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the rich and accused Republicans of being fiscally irresponsible.

Sept 8 - Social networks, like Facebook, used to be the playground of the under-30 crowd, but boomers and senior citizens are storming the field. Carmen Roberts reports.

LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - BP Plc and its Gulf of Mexico oil well partners traded blame on Wednesday after an internal BP investigation tried to downplay the company's role in the world's biggest offshore spill.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oracle Corp has offered its new co-president, former Hewlett-Packard chief Mark Hurd, a hiring package with a bonus of up to $10 million and options potentially worth tens of millions more.

LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - BP Plc and its Gulf of Mexico oil well partners traded blame on Wednesday after an internal BP investigation tried to downplay the company's role in the world's biggest offshore spill.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors latched onto positive news out of Europe in the latest in a string of low-volume sessions suggesting little confidence in market direction.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc's search engine now displays results before users finish typing.

Sept. 8 - After losing ground in Tuesday's session, Wall Street posted gains as concerns about European banks eased. Bobbi Rebell reports.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday the United States needed more incentives to stimulate job growth and bolster a slow recovery from a "savage" recession.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oracle Corp has offered its new co-president, former Hewlett-Packard chief Mark Hurd, a hiring package with a bonus of up to $10 million and options potentially worth tens of millions more.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top securities regulator defended its proposed $75 million settlement with Citigroup , saying the penalty reasonably accounts for the seriousness of the bank's alleged misconduct, according to a document filed in court on Wednesday.