IBT Staff Reporter

BlackRock Inc , the world's largest asset manager, said first-quarter profits were steady, bolstered by strong inflows into its popular iShares exchange-traded fund business.

Stocks were lower on Wednesday after uninspiring earnings from IBM and Intel, while Chesapeake Energy slumped after a Reuters report highlighted large and unusual personal loans taken by its chief executive.

Swiss drugmaker Roche said on Wednesday it would not extend a $6.8 billion hostile offer for genetic specialist Illumina as the U.S. group's shareholders blocked its move to appoint new directors.

Stocks were lower on Wednesday after the S&P 500 notched its biggest gain in a month, weighed down by IBM and Intel after their quarterly results.

The government will face a major test on whether it has the capacity to govern when it faces big tax and budget decisions at the end of the year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc Chief Executive Warren Buffett said he has stage 1 prostate cancer but his condition is not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way.

Stocks were poised for a lower open on Wednesday after the S&P 500 notched its biggest gain in a month as investors digested another round of corporate earnings.

Starbucks Corp has ambitious expansion plans in China, but like any big new emerging market there are teething problems, not least of which is that customers love it so much they stay for hours and hours and sometimes don't even buy a drink.

The American president and chief executive of Nippon Sheet Glass Co Ltd <5202.T> quit the company after less than two years in the post following fundamental disagreements with the board over strategy, chairman Katsuji Fujimoto said on Wednesday.

Commodities trader Glencore signed a $6 billion syndicated loan backing its $90 billion merger with miner Xstrata on Tuesday after raising nearly $11 billion in syndication, banking sources said on Wednesday.

Fears of a resurgence in the euro zone debt crisis boosted demand for safe-haven German bonds on Wednesday, while the Bank of England and a European Central Bank official signaled more monetary policy easing to support growth was unlikely.

Halliburton Co , the world's second-largest oilfield services company, on Wednesday reported higher quarterly profits as North American sales reached a record high, lifting its shares in premarket trading.

Stock index futures dipped on Wednesday after the S&P 500 tallied its biggest gain in a month and ahead of another round of corporate earnings.

Stock index futures dipped on Wednesday after the S&P 500 tallied its biggest gain in a month and ahead of another round of corporate earnings.

The world's leading chip equipment maker ASML expects steady sales, driven by demand for hot consumer gadgets such as smartphones and tablets, but said it was hard to predict exactly when orders would arrive.

Stock index futures edged lower on Wednesday after the S&P 500 tallied its biggest gain in a month and ahead of another round of corporate earnings.

Aubrey McClendon, the CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp, has borrowed as much as $1.1 billion over the last three years against his stake in thousands of company wells - a move that analysts, academics and attorneys who reviewed loan documents say raises the potential for conflicts of interest.

Halliburton Co , the world's second-largest oilfield services company, on Wednesday reported higher quarterly profits as North American revenue reached a record high, lifting its shares in premarket trading.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 down between 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent at 6:47 a.m. EDT (1047 GMT).

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 down between 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent at 6:47 a.m. EDT (1047 GMT).

Economic experts watching Spain don't know how much money will be needed or precisely when, but some are near certain that Madrid will eventually seek a multi-billion euro bailout for its banks, and perhaps even for the state itself.

European shares eased and the single currency softened on Wednesday as the region's sovereign debt worries and its weaker economic outlook weighed on investors ahead of a German bond sale that will test demand for ultra-low yielding debt.

Malaysia's economy has passed the turning point in its drive to reach high-income status by 2020, the head of the government's economic performance agency said, but politically sensitive fiscal reforms will only be pushed through gradually.

Japan's Sony Corp is in talks with Taiwan's AU Optronics Corp to jointly produce next-generation OLED televisions, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, positioning itself for the post-liquid crystal display TV market.

Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd agreed that their chief executives would participate in settlement talks to try to resolve a patent lawsuit over smartphone and tablet technology, according to a court filing.

Exuberant global markets have taken a reality check this month on chronic U.S., Chinese and European growth concerns, and investors should hold companies' relatively rosy profit outlooks up for scrutiny too.

HSBC is launching its first offshore yuan bond, which will be the first offshore yuan deal to be listed in London, IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, reported on Wednesday.

Former customers of MF Global , waiting for the return of as much as $1.6 billion missing from their accounts, will get their first chance next week to hear testimony from Louis Freeh, the embattled trustee for the bankrupt commodities firm.

Twitter said on Tuesday that it would structure its patents so they could not be used for offensive litigation purposes without permission from the people who developed them.