Friday's Headlines: Women from Asia pushing up number of female U.S. MBA students

American women, beware. BusinessWeek reports that a wave of women from China, Taiwan, and Vietnam pursuing U.S. MBAs are driving up the overall percentage of women in such programs. Women now outnumber men in East Asia taking the test. Last year, a record 105,900 women took the exam -- 40% of all test takers.

This ambition goes beyond just grad school. A recent Bloomberg survey found that 76% of Chinese women considering business school aspire to a top job, compared with 52% of American women. The degrees are increasingly desirable in the women's home countries, as female workers are rising up the ranks. Today women hold 34% of senior management roles in China, excluding Hong Kong, up from 31% in 2009.

Other news:

A recent spate of multibillion-dollar deals has driven mergers-and-acquisitions activity up 41% this year, but some question whether the pace is sustainable. [WSJ]

JPMorgan Chase's trading activities recorded a net gain in every trading session for a "perfect" Q1. [WSJ]

RBS's Q1 losses doubled on expenses linked to a government insurance program R.B.S. tapped to limit losses from its riskiest assets.[DealBook]

AIG's quarterly profit tumbles 85% on the Japan earthquake and restructuring its government bailout. [NY Times]

JPMorgan Chase was subpoena by the SEC over failed mortgages. [Bloomberg]

Fannie Mae ranked No. 5 on the Fortune 500 list. [Fortune]

Hedge funds climbed 1.4 percent in April to the highest level in almost three years. [BusinessWeek]