Europe, China woes fuel earnings worries

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors are worried U.S. earnings growth may finally fall back to earth as turmoil in Europe and signs of a less robust Chinese economy hurt foreign support. The euro zone's debt crisis and weakness in China have fueled investor concern that the global economy could tip back into recession, possibly dampening U.S. earnings growth at a time when the U.S. economy is still struggling to gain ground.

State job cuts on table at Greek loan talks

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece hopes to clinch a deal with its EU and IMF lenders on how to meet a promise to lay off state workers -- a key condition to free up urgently needed bailout aid -- by Sunday, senior government officials said. Without the release of an 8 billion euro ($10.7 billion) tranche of an EU bailout, massively indebted Greece could run out of money to pay state wage bills within weeks.

Alibaba's Ma: "very interested" in buying Yahoo

PALO ALTO, California (Reuters) - Jack Ma, the founder and CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is keen on buying Yahoo Inc if the opportunity presents itself and has held discussions with other potential buyers about options. Asked whether Alibaba might like to pick up the ailing U.S. Internet company, Ma told an audience at Stanford University that he would be "very interested in Yahoo."

China paper urges Europe get act together on debt crisis

BEIJING (Reuters) - European countries must act decisively to resolve the euro zone debt crisis or risk having some member states forced out of the single currency, China's top newspaper said in a front page commentary on Saturday. The call came in the overseas edition of the People's Daily, the official paper of the ruling Communist Party.

Kodak denies bankruptcy plan but shares plummet

(Reuters) Eastman Kodak Co shares lost more than half their value on Friday as the company hired a law firm well-known for bankruptcy cases, triggering speculation that the photography pioneer could file for bankruptcy. Kodak, which delivered the first consumer camera in 1888, denied it had a bankruptcy plan, saying it was committed to meeting its obligations and is still looking for ways to "monetize" its patent portfolio.

Tesla wannabe owners get a gander at Model S Sedan

FREMONT, California (Reuters) - Electric carmaker Tesla Motors threw open its factory doors to customers who have preordered its forthcoming Model S sedan on Saturday evening. Customers got tours of the Fremont, California, factory, rides in a prototype of the Model S, and a plea for support from Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, a co-founder of eBay.

Citigroup faces regulatory scrutiny in Japan: source

TOKYO (Reuters) - Citigroup is being investigated by Japanese regulators for possible infractions related to its marketing of financial products and could face its third major punishment in Japan in 7 years, a source with knowledge of the matter said. Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) is probing whether Citigroup failed to offer sufficient explanations to customers about investment trusts, which are similar to mutual funds in the U.S., and other financial products, the source said.