ECONOMY & MARKETS

Beverage firms led Europe's top shares lower Wednesday, as mixed corporate results and cooling hopes over the prospect of further economic stimulus in the U.S. saw the recent rebound lose steam.

World stocks fell on Wednesday as European investors shuffled positions ahead of a Jackson Hole speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Japanese shares sold off following a Moody's downgrade.

The top after-market NYSE Losers on Tuesday are: Inphi Corp, Ivanhoe Mines, La-Z-Boy, DSW, Cobalt International Energy, Red Hat, Oceaneering International, PVH, Westlake Chemical and FMC Technologies.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Tuesday are: Dycom Industries, Accuride Corp, 3D Systems, Dollar General, MEMC Electronic Materials, Vonage Holdings, GMX Resources, Heckmann and Complete Production Services.

Asian shares fell Wednesday as a rally fueled by speculation that the Federal Reserve may further shore up the struggling U.S. economy swiftly petered out, while gold rebounded from its sharpest one-day slide in 18 months.

Several major banks cut sharply their oil price forecasts on Tuesday, with Citigroup saying that even if the United States printed more money, oil would stay depressed by weak economic growth and fresh supplies from Libya.

Asian shares rose on Wednesday as speculation the Federal Reserve may signal further moves to support the struggling U.S. economy sustained a modest rebound from this month's sharp sell-off.

Moody's Investors Service cut its rating on Japan's government debt by one notch to AA3 on Wednesday, blaming large budget deficits and a buildup of debt since the 2009 global recession.

UBS Wealth Management Americas, the U.S. brokerage arm of UBS AG , said on Tuesday it plans no financial adviser cuts in connection with the Swiss bank's announced plans to slash 3,500 jobs.

You can’t blame investors for feeling slightly queasy about the U.S. stock market these days. One day of relatively positive data points is followed by a day with enough bad news to keep a stock investor up at night. But based on a condensed, cross-methodological analysis, in which direction is the Dow likely to head in the next six months?

A tax rebate on natural gas imports may accelerate China's purchases of liquefied natural gas, but only marginally given high prices for spot supplies and the nation's policy of using long-term contracts.

China's factory sector is likely to slow slightly for a second consecutive month in August as sluggish overseas demand saps new orders, HSBC's China Flash PMI showed on Tuesday.

China should diversify its huge foreign exchange reserves into non-financial assets to hedge against risks from a long-term decline in the U.S. dollar, Xia Bin, an academic adviser to the central bank said on Tuesday.

Economic growth is stagnating in Europe and cooling slightly in China, according to surveys of business activity released on Tuesday, fuelling concern about the risk of a global slump as Western governments struggle to cope with their debt problems.

Duff McKagan has created a wealth management firm that caters to rock musicians.

Shares of Sino-Forest (TRE.TO: Quote) fell more than 15 percent on Tuesday after rating agency Standard & Poor's once again lowered the credit rating of the Chinese forestry company accused of fraud.

Bank of Montreal's (BMO.TO: Quote) quarterly profit rose by a higher-than-expected 18 percent as capital markets income surged and a recent U.S. acquisition started to contribute, Canada's No. 4 lender said on Tuesday.

Millions of Americans are wondering if and when aftershocks will hit the East Coast.

Can an earthquake influence the ups and downs of the stock market?

Investors bullish on the oil market are getting support from the uncertainty in Libya.

As Bank of America's stock dropped to a 52-week low in trading Tuesday and UBS became the latest bank to announce jobs cuts there's good news from the financial services industry -- a quarterly report from the FDIC shows that banks' finances are improving.

Canadian retail sales rose a seemingly healthy 0.7 percent in June from May, but the figure prompted little enthusiasm from analysts who noted a one-off jump in auto sales had fueled most of the gain.

Motorsports a valuable laboratory for the Chevrolet Cruze nameplate..

When your ride is making odd sounds, it’s telling you that something might be wrong.

The economic effects of political revolution in Egypt suggests that freedom came with a price.

Ditch the gold epaulettes, riding crops and silk sashes -- and go native!

You can’t blame investors for feeling slightly queasy about the U.S. stock market these days. One day of relatively positive data points is followed by a day with enough bad news to keep a stock investor up at night. But based on a condensed, cross-methodological analysis, in which direction is the Dow likely to head in the next six months?

The Cadillac Converj Concept, a luxury coupe with extended-range electric vehicle technology, is moving forward as a production car that will be called the Cadillac ELR.

The top after-market NYSE Losers on Monday are: AutoNation, MVC Capital, Big Lots, Gap, LaSalle Hotel Properties, Western Refining, Robert Half International, Williams-Sonoma, Williams-Sonoma and Youku.com.