PARIS - Carrefour, the European answer to Wal-Mart and the world’s second-largest retailer, is in play.
It is a classic story, involving generational tensions, a senior executive summarily dismissed and pressure from powerful investors hunting for profit. But it is also a very French story because the value of the treasure at the tale’s core — [...]

This just in from London: the U.S. subprime mortgage market is in a tizzy.
London’s HSBC Holdings Plc roiled shares of U.S. subprime lenders late Wednesday when just a few hours after a rival subprime lender posted a big loss, the U.K.-based bank said customer defaults jumped at its U.S. operations.
The subprime industry, which makes [...]

Jefferies & Company, Inc., the principal operating subsidiary of Jefferies Group, Inc., announced the hiring of Anindya Chatterjee as a Managing Director and Senior Equity Research Analyst covering growing companies in India, China and Southeast Asia. Mr. Chatterjee has 12 years of experience as an analyst, strategist and consultant focused on emerging markets and cross-border [...]

Merrill Lynch & Co., Deutsche Bank AG and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings invested US$400 million for an 8% stake in Chinese property developer Hengda Real Estate Group, the state-run Shanghai Securities News reported Monday.
Hengda Real Estate may attract another US$500 million from overseas investors before its planned overseas initial public offering, the report said, [...]

Hong Kong shares edged up Friday as the market’s two biggest blue chips HSBC Holdings and China Mobile posted solid gains.
The index rose 50.21 points, or 0.3 percent, to 20,327.72.
Bank HSBC rose 1.1 percent to HK$143.00 on a positive report by Morgan Stanley and signs of a rebound in the housing market in the U.S., [...]

Macquarie Bank Ltd., Australia’s largest securities firm, plans to start a $2 billion United Arab Emirates real estate investment trust with local partners to exploit rising property prices in the Persian Gulf state.
Macquarie’s real estate unit is in talks with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and the Dubai International Financial Centre, or DIFC, to form [...]

Hong Kong shares hit a new record close, lifted by gains by real-estate companies, as most Asian markets advanced.
Singapore also finished at another record, Shanghai reached a five-year high and Taipei advanced to its highest mark in more than half a year.
In Hong Kong, blue-chip Hang Seng index inched up 14.53 points, or 0.1, to [...]