IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks were largely flat on Wednesday as investors balanced comments from the Federal Reserve on the economy and banking sector against the recent, five-day rally.

The Federal Reserve will try to make it clearer whether new banking rules apply to small lenders, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in remarks on Wednesday.

Apple Inc is seeing record pre-orders for its latest iPad with wait times for shipping the tablet now reaching two to three weeks, said Canaccord Genuity analysts, who now expect the company to sell 65.6 million iPads this year.

Zynga Inc filed with regulators for a secondary stock offering of up to $400 million on Wednesday, paving the way for some early investors to exit their holdings.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Wednesday as investors weighed comments from the Federal Reserve on the economy and banking sector against the recent five-day rally.

Tencent Holdings Ltd, China's biggest internet company by revenue, plans to step up its expansion in social networking, search and e-commerce to attract more online advertisers as it looks to diversify from its competitive core gaming market.

The current account deficit widened much more than expected to $124.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, as imports rose and exports dropped, a government report showed on Wednesday.

Demand for home purchases picked up for the third week in a row last week, though applications for refinancing sagged, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Apple Inc is seeing record pre-orders for its latest iPad with wait times for shipping the tablet now reaching two to three weeks, said Canaccord Genuity analysts, who now expect the company to sell 65.6 million iPads this year.

Stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors weighed comments from the Federal Reserve on the economy and banking sector against the recent five-day rally.

In yet another sign of the growing dominance of the digital publishing market, the oldest English-language encyclopedia still in print is moving solely into the digital age.

Stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday, putting the benchmark index on track for its sixth straight advance after comments from the Federal Reserve on the economy and banking sector helped boost optimism.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Wednesday it had hired UBS corporate broker Peter Luck, helping to bolster a team depleted by a string of senior departures.

Euro zone countries formally approved on Wednesday a second, 130 billion euro financing package for Greece that will keep Athens funded until 2014, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement.

Most of the largest banks passed their annual stress test, according to the Federal Reserve, in a conservative report card that underscored the recovery of the financial sector but called out a few laggards, including Citigroup.

China must embrace slower growth and bolder political reform to keep its economy from faltering and to spread wealth more evenly, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Wednesday, vowing to use his last year in power to attack mounting discontent that he warned could end in chaos.

BMW , the world's largest premium carmaker, warned that more and more profit-eroding incentives are being offered to sell luxury cars at the moment, adding there are no signs this will change anytime soon.

Sharp Corp named the head of its global operations as president to turn around a company facing a record annual loss, the latest Japanese firm to shake up management after tumbling into the red on slumping TV sales.

Stock futures signaled a mixed opening for Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.1 percent, the Dow Jones futures down 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq 100 futures falling 0.1 percent.

Over the past two years, India's central bank was raising rates in a futile effort to contain stubborn inflation, as the government fumbled on fixing decrepit infrastructure and other supply bottlenecks in the economy.

Over the past two years, India's central bank was raising rates in a futile effort to contain stubborn inflation, as the government fumbled on fixing decrepit infrastructure and other supply bottlenecks in the economy.

The United States, Europe and Japan have joined forces to challenge China's restrictions on exports of rare-earth metals, escalating a trade row over access to some of the most important raw materials used in advanced technologies.

German fashion house Hugo Boss said sales growth would slow in 2012, after a record year driven by demand from Asian consumers seeking European luxury names.

Shares of Sharp Corp reversed losses and jumped over 4 percent on Wednesday after a report that its president Mikio Katayama would resign as the company struggles to shore up its finances.

Five major U.S. banks have agreed to pay $25 million to New York State over their use of an electronic mortgage database that the state said resulted in deceptive and illegal practices that led to more than 13,000 foreclosures.

Flat screen maker LG Display Co Ltd is supplying touch-screen panels for Apple Inc's new iPad, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday.

Taiwan's AU Optronics Corp will appeal a guilty verdict by a U.S. court in a price fixing suit over liquid crystal display panels that could leave it facing a fine of up to $1 billion just as it looks to recover from a series of losses.

China will intensify reforms of its currency regime and allow the yuan to float more freely, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Wednesday at the end of an annual parliament session punctuated by signs of a slowing economy.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans support imposing a minimum tax rate of 30 percent on those who earn $1 million or more a year, according to Reuters/Ipsos poll results released on Tuesday.