NEWS

Stocks added to gains on Wednesday as investors turned to financial stocks following factory and home sales data that showed the economic slump could be moderating.

Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors turned to financial stocks following factory and home sales data that showed the economic slump could be moderating.

Stocks pared losses and briefly turned positive on Wednesday following data that showed an index of manufacturing activity rose more than expected in March, while sales of existing homes rose in February.

Stocks rose on Wednesday as data on home sales and manufacturing added to hopes that the economic slump was moderating, prompting investors to scoop up bank shares.

A possible bankruptcy plan being discussed for General Motors includes quickly forming a new company of the automaker's most profitable parts, while a group of other units would remain under bankruptcy protection for a longer period, a source familiar with the plans told Reuters on Tuesday.

Alcoa Inc rebounded on the stock market on Tuesday, a day after tumbling 14 percent and a week before it reports fourth-quarter results, and analysts said an upgrade by Deutsche Bank and a report suggesting Alcoa might be a takeover target of mining group BHP Billiton contributed to the stock boost.

Fiat SpA's CEO was set for talks with Chrysler LLC labor unions and creditors in Detroit after U.S. authorities gave the carmakers 30 days to set up a partnership to save the ailing U.S. group.

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group is ready to return to the fray and raise its initial offer for Oriental Brewery, which its owner Anheuser-Busch InBev (INTB.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) values at more than $2 billion, in a new round of bidding due next week, sources said.

A California nut grower and processor issued a nationwide recall of pistachios on Tuesday due to possible salmonella contamination, and authorities said consumers should avoid all pistachio products until more information was available.

General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will close more U.S. plants and cut more jobs and still faces a higher probability of bankruptcy to shed debt, GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said on Tuesday.

Fiat's (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) chief executive has flown to Chrysler LLC's CBS.UL home town of Detroit to meet trade unions and creditors after U.S. authorities gave the carmakers 30 days to set up a partnership to save Chrysler.

The Sun-Times Media Group, parent of the Chicago Sun-Times, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, earning Chicago the distinction of being the first U.S. city served by two bankrupt newspaper publishers.

President Barack Obama said on Monday said the U.S. cannot let its auto industry vanish, but didn’t rule out pain ahead for creditors, unions and other group affiliated with General Motors Corp, and Chrysler.

The following are President Obama's prepared comments on the Auto Industry and the outlook for General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC as provided by the White House.

The Obama Administration says it will work with General Motors Inc to see the automaker eventually get a fresh start, promising more aggressive attempts to improve the business and leaving the door open for bankruptcy.

The U.S. task force overseeing the restructuring of the auto industry on Monday said the plans submitted by General Motors Corp and Chrysler failed to show how they could be viable.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Monday as the Obama administration threatened bankruptcy for two major U.S. automakers and Spain had to rescue regional savings bank CCM.

General Motors Corp Chief Executive Rick Wagoner will resign from the company, a government official and another person briefed on the matter said on Sunday, a day before the government is expected to announce if it will extend more aid to GM.

The Obama administration seized the wheel of the failing U.S. auto industry on Monday, forcing out General Motors Corp's CEO, pushing Chrysler LLC toward a merger and threatening bankruptcy for both.

President Barack Obama will announce the next steps to help General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC on Monday, the White House said, amid signs of progress for GM in talks aimed at slashing its debt and cutting costs in response to slack demand.

A U.S. congressman has asked the Obama autos task force to withhold further emergency aid to Chrysler until the automaker resolves a financial dispute with an Indiana county stemming from a failed plant project.

KB Home posted a quarterly loss that was not as bad as Wall Street had expected, as orders rose and the builder took a smaller charge to write down the value of its landholdings, sending shares up as much as 12 percent.

Stocks closed lower on Friday as investors booked profits following of a recent upward surge and bank shares dropped after executives indicated March had been a tougher month for the industry than the previous two.

Jack Dreyfus, the so-called Lion on Wall Street, died March 27 at New York Hospital, the asset management firm that he founded said on Friday.

U.S. stocks slid on Friday as investors booked profits in the wake of a recent surge, and bank shares dropped after several bank executives indicated March had been a tougher month than the previous two.

General Motors Corp has offered to convert half of a $20 billion funding obligation to a union-aligned retiree healthcare trust into preferred stock, business television station CNBC reported on Friday.

U.S. stocks tumbled further on Friday, with indexes sliding more than 2 percent after comments from JPMorgan Chase's chief executive that March was a little tough.

General Motors Corp has offered to convert half of a $20 billion funding obligation to a union-aligned retiree healthcare trust into preferred stock, business television station CNBC reported on Friday.

Auto interiors and battery maker Johnson Controls Inc said it would close an additional 10 plants and cut more jobs than planned as it expects no near-term recovery in global auto production.