MARKETS / FINANCE

New single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in February to hit a record low and prices were the lowest since December 2003, a government report showed on Wednesday, suggesting the housing market slide was deepening.

Japan's largest banks are in talks to provide up to $25 billion in emergency loans to Tokyo Electric Power <9501.T> to shore up its finances and rebuild its power network following a disaster at one of its nuclear plants.

General Mills Inc , maker of Cheerios cereal and Progresso soup, on Wednesday reported a higher quarterly profit, helped by a surge in international sales.

Wall Street was poised for a lower open on Wednesday as concerns over debt issues in the euro zone, Japan's nuclear crisis and violence in the Middle East and North Africa persisted.

Britain's economy will grow more slowly this year than initially hoped, finance minister George Osborne said on Wednesday, citing new forecasts from the government's fiscal watchdog.

Corrects headline to show index futures were down

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday, after modest losses in the previous session, as worry continued over debt issues in the euro zone, Japan's nuclear crisis and violence in the Middle East and North Africa.

Insight Communications Co, controlled by The Carlyle Group, has put itself up for auction, seeking a deal valuing the U.S. cable operator at up to $4 billion, people close to the deal told Reuters.

Britain's budget on Wednesday is likely to show the government's ambitious deficit-busting goals are still within reach, but an uncertain recovery and stubborn inflation could yet disrupt its austerity plans.

Japan estimated the cost of the damage from its devastating earthquake and tsunami could top $300 billion as authorities in Tokyo warned that babies should not be given tap water because of radiation from a crippled nuclear plant.

The Japanese government on Wednesday estimated the direct damage from a deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck the country's northeast this month at as much as $310 billion, making it the world's costliest natural disaster.

Portugal's parliament is expected to reject government austerity measures on Wednesday, setting the stage for the possible collapse of the minority Socialist administration a day before a European summit.

Billionaire Warren Buffett, who is looking to invest in large countries such as China, India and Brazil, said on Wednesday he expected global output to rise significantly over the next year.

The Japanese government on Wednesday estimated the direct damage from a deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck the country's northeast this month at 16-25 trillion yen ($185-308 billion), making it the world's costliest natural disaster.

The Japanese government estimates material damage from a deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck the country's northeast this month at 15-25 trillion yen ($185-308 billion), making it the costliest ever natural disaster, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Wednesday.

- Japan's government said on Wednesday it estimated damage from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit northeast Japan this month at about 16-25 trillion yen ($197-308 billion).

Japan's top lenders including Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group <8316.T> are in talks to provide up to 2 trillion yen ($24.7 billion) in emergency loans to Tokyo Electric Power <9501.T> to help the operator of a stricken nuclear plant rebuild its power supply network.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc chief Lloyd Blankfein will be called to testify at Raj Rajaratnam's insider trading trial as soon as this week, but prosecutors want to prevent him being questioned about any legal issues facing the bank, according to trial documents.

Private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC lowered the expected range for the price of its initial public offering after delaying its filing as a nuclear crisis in Japan and democracy protests in the Middle East rocked markets.

Japanese financial institutions, including the country's top three banks, are considering providing more than 1 trillion yen ($12.3 billion) in emergency loans to Tokyo Electric Power <9501.T>, the operator of a stricken nuclear plant, sources said on Wednesday.

HSBC is sounding out its shareholders over a proposed shake-up of its pay plans that would see top executives assessed on a wider range of performance metrics, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected a $125 million settlement between Google Inc and authors that would have let the company publish millions of books online to create the world's largest digital library.

Two of the biggest online measurement firms are locked in a battle over alleged patent infringement.

General Motors Co sold its preferred shares in auto lender Ally Financial Inc for $1 billion in what the automaker on Tuesday called a step to strengthen its balance sheet.

Some things hardly change for money manager David Winters.

A New York court has rejected a class action settlement hammered out between Google Inc and publishers that would allow the Web search leader to scan millions of books and sell them online.

Insight Communications Co, the cable operator controlled by The Carlyle Group, is seeking up to $4 billion in a sale of the company, people close to the deal told Reuters.

Leap Wireless International has entered a roaming agreement with broadband and satellite company LightSquared, it said on Tuesday.

A former Intel Corp managing director testified on Tuesday that he shared the chipmaker's secrets with his close friend, hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, the central figure in the biggest Wall Street insider trading trial in decades.