UNITED STATES

President Mikhail Saakashvili declared a state of emergency in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Wednesday after police fought pitched battles with protesters, and the prime minister said there had been an attempt at a coup.

CHICAGO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Travel Web site Expedia Inc said on Wednesday quarterly profit rose 69 percent on a surge in bookings primarily in rapidly growing European markets.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that his office was sending subpoenas to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as part of his expanding probe of the home mortgage industry. The subpoenas seek information on the mortgage loans that the two companies purchased from banks, including Washington Mutual, Cuomo said.

The dollar dropped to record lows versus the euro on Wednesday after comments by a Chinese official stoked fears the central bank of the world's fourth largest economy would reduce its holdings of U.S. assets.

The dollar hit record lows versus the euro on Wednesday, knocking major stock markets as General Motors posted its biggest quarterly loss ever which rattled investors already concerned about the U.S. economy.

Does Asia have more to fear from rising petrol prices as crude oil hurtles towards $100 a barrel than it does from slowing growth in its biggest export market of the United States?

Dutch financial group ING will buy a 25.2 percent stake in Thailand's TMB Bank, TMB officials said on Wednesday after the money-losing Thai bank rejected a last-minute rival bid.

Washington Mutual Inc, the largest U.S. savings and loan, said on Wednesday the U.S. housing slump will persist through 2008, causing loan losses to mount and mortgage lending to fall to an eight-year low.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce on Wednesday he is examining what role Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might have played in an alleged scheme to inflate appraisals of home values, sources familiar with the investigation said.

Nasdaq Stock Market Inc said on Wednesday it would acquire the Philadelphia Stock Exchange for $652 million, a move that will let the No. 2 U.S. stock exchange expand its presence in the fast-growing options business.

Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto threatened on Wednesday to lead a mass protest march to the capital unless President Pervez Musharraf quits as army chief, holds elections and restores the constitution.

Oil was on the cusp of the landmark $100 a barrel level on Wednesday, helping push gold towards a record $850 an ounce as an embattled dollar hit new lows.

A global shortage of executive talent is forcing companies to be much more accommodating as increasingly restless senior managers demand less travel and more flexibility, executive search firms say.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said on Wednesday that assessing the credit market turmoil that started this summer may take more time and that the Fed did the right thing in making funds available, albeit at a cost.

When the first snow falls this winter, 61-year-old Grace Murphy won't be turning on the heat in her Dorchester, Massachussetts home. With her heating oil tank at empty, she'll be huddled around her gas oven with her husband Paul, 66, and her 88-year old mother.

General Motors Corp posted its largest quarterly net loss on Wednesday, reflecting a $39-billion charge related to unclaimed tax credits and a loss at its former finance subsidiary GMAC. The largest U.S. automaker posted a third-quarter net loss of $39 billion, or $68.85 per share, compared with a loss of $147 million, or 26 cents per share a year earlier.

Toyota Motor Corp, the world's most profitable automaker, posted a 2.7 percent rise in quarterly operating profit thanks to a weaker yen, stronger sales and cost cuts and nudged up its full-year forecasts.

Time Warner Cable Inc, the second-largest U.S. cable television operator, said on Wednesday that third-quarter profit fell due to a large year-earlier gain.

Gauging retail success or failure for the holidays is an increasingly difficult, and often unreliable, endeavor.

Six in 10 U.S. consumers say a recession is likely in the next three to six months, a new survey on holiday spending said on Wednesday. A telephone survey found 45.7 percent of 1,000 respondents say a recession is somewhat likely, 14.3 percent said very likely and Forty percent said a recession was not likely

Oil sped above $98 a barrel for the first time on Wednesday, closing in on the landmark $100 level, driven by a slumping U.S. dollar and worries over a winter fuel supply crunch.