DETROIT/NEW YORK -- GENREAL Motors has failed to persuade enough bondholders to accept a debt-for-equity swap, setting the stage for the largest-ever US industrial bankruptcy within days.

The event marks a critical disappointment for GM, the largest US automaker and once considered the bellwether of US manufacturing. A popular ad for the automaker once stated that 'What's good for General Motors, is good for the USA.'

NEW YORK - A EUROPEAN bank that was among the biggest losers in the Bernard Madoff swindle has agreed to pay US$235 million (S$341 million) to resolve potential legal claims by the trustee trying to unwind the massive pyramid scam.

The payment by Banco Santander would return about 85 per cent of the money that the bank's hedge fund affiliate, Optimal Investment Services, had withdrawn from its accounts with Madoff in the years before the fraud collapsed.

NEW YORK - US consumer confidence soared in May to its highest level in eight months, suggesting underlying improvement in the economy after a grim first quarter that witnessed a record plunge in home prices.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said on Tuesday its index of consumer attitudes jumped to 54.9 in May from a revised 40.8 in April, well above forecasts centered around 42.0.