Earnings calls wake up to Wall Street pain

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Earnings forecasts for U.S. companies are starting to feel the pain on Wall Street and in the broader economy as the odds of another recession rise. Intense fear that global debt issues and stagnant growth cannot be resolved has pummeled market confidence in the past couple of months.

New UBS boss seeks fresh start after trading scandal

ZURICH (Reuters) - The new interim boss of UBS faced a daunting task on Sunday as he tries to get the Swiss bank back on its feet after Oswald Gruebel quit as chief executive over the $2.3 billion loss it ran up in alleged rogue trading. Sergio Ermotti said on Saturday the scandal had revealed a risk exposure that was "totally unacceptable" and his first priorities would be to review the bank's controls and conclude an internal investigation into the losses.

Europe aims to beef up crisis fund, world urges action

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Europe is working to ramp up the firepower of its bailout fund, top officials said on Saturday, as the United States, China and other nations raised the alarm about its debt crisis hurting the world economy. Financial markets plunged last week on fears that Greece's near-bankruptcy could spread to other euro zone countries, heaping pressure on European policymakers to prevent a repeat of the chaos that swept the world in 2007-2009.

Russia says better to save Greece from a default

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saving Greece from a default would be better for the euro zone countries and ease the threat of similar developments in Spain and Italy, Russia's Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Saturday. "It is better to save (Greece)," Kudrin told journalists at the sidelines of global policymakers' semi-annual meeting in Washington.

Greece must push reforms or face dramatic fallout:central banker

ATHENS (Reuters) - Debt-laden Greece must push forward with reforms prescribed by its international lenders or face dramatic consequences, the country's central banker said in an interview. The European Union and the International Monetary Fund have expressed impatience with the slow pace at which Greece has been implementing measures to conform with their bailout plan and Athens now is intent on persuading them of its commitment to fulfilling its obligations.

China must battle inflation, maintains growth: Zhou

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's economic outlook is positive, but it must keep battling inflation and be ready to counteract any external shocks, the country's top central banker said on Saturday. People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said China should prevent rapid growth from overheating what many viewed as the world's leading economic engine, and called on Europe to aggressively deal with the region's worsening debt crisis.

UniCredit CEO urges swift economic reforms

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Italy could face losing its economic competitiveness unless political leaders move quickly to carry out economic reforms to cut its debt and restart growth, the head of UniCredit , Italy's biggest bank, said on Saturday. Chief Executive Federico Ghizzoni said internatonal lenders were not satisfied by the center-right government's austerity package aimed at balancing the budget since it failed to cut Italy's debt mountain or restart sluggish growth.