Britain's Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England need to tighten regulation of banks, raise fines for wrongdoing, and possibly acquire the authority to fire senior executives, according to a report from Parliament's Treasury Select Committee following to scandal of Barclays [uk:barc]

Patrick Ricard, the emblematic chairman of French alcoholic beverage giant Pernod Ricard SA who was responsible for the rapid and ambitious development of the group, died suddenly Friday, the company said.

Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.LN) is preparing to overhaul its boardroom, in light of mounting pressure from shareholders over its handling of allegations that it hid details of transactions with Iran totaling $250 billion, the Financial Times in London reported Saturday, citing people familiar with

German retailer Metro AG (MEO.XE) is struggling to stay in the DAX--the stock index of the country's 30 largest companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange--as its market capitalization is presently too low, according to an interview with its chief financial officer in Saturday's edition of

U.S. stock advances are expected to run into resistance next week, following the longest winning streak since January 2011, as a lack of fresh incentives and opacity in Europe catch up with equities.

Veteran lefty Erik Bedard aims for a third straight win in a big spot today when the Pittsburgh Pirates visit St. Louis for the second of three weekend games with the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.The Pirates broke on top of the series with a 2-1 win Friday and maintained their position in the

Rookie left-hander Patrick Corbin makes his first career trip to the mound in Houston tonight, when the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Astros in the middle game of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.A 23-year-old from Clay, N.Y., Corbin was a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels of

The Atlanta Braves are winning games in clutch ways as they continue to press for a possible Wild Card spot and aim at the first-place Washington Nationals in the National League East.Last night, Juan Francisco's game-winning, pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning helped the Braves

Johnny Cueto aims to tie the major league lead in wins this afternoon when the NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds take on the Chicago Cubs in a day/night doubleheader from Great American Ball Park.Already with a career-high 15 victories, Cueto is coming off a sparkling performance at Wrigley Field