IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks stalled on Wednesday, a day after the Dow and the S&P 500 closed above important technical levels and at their highest in about 2-1/2 years.

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Apple Inc said on Wednesday that it would kick off online sales of the Verizon Wireless iPhone on February 9, a day before the device hits its store shelves.

Stocks gained for the second day running on Wednesday with Vodacom (VODJ.J) among the top gainers on upbeat quarterly results while metal prices boosted miners.

The Middle East is headed into the unknown, on that everyone agrees -- but the speed of events in Egypt and elsewhere has left analysts and financial markets struggling to find their bearings.

South African group Pioneer Food said on Wednesday it has withdrawn its offer to buy unlisted wine and spirits maker KWV, after the deal failed to gain support from some KWV shareholders.

South African Mining Minister Susan Shabangu said on Wednesday the government would act to ensure sufficient coal supplies for power generation, but urged industry to sort out the supply problem first.

South African petroleum company Engen is looking to expand in Mauritius after it concluded an agreement on Tuesday to buy Chevron's business in the Indian Ocean island, it said on Wednesday.

Standard Chartered has promoted the head of transaction banking for China to lead the same division in Africa, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Rwanda's economic growth will slow to 7 percent in 2011 from 7.4 percent a year before, while inflation is projected to quicken to an average of 4.4 percent due to oil prices, the finance minister said on Wednesday.

Vodacom, South Africa's largest mobile phone operator, overcame stiff competition to post a 6 percent rise in third-quarter sales, boosted by a surge in mobile data and strong prepaid growth.

Four of the nine Nigerian banks rescued in a $4 billion bailout two years ago are expected to sign agreements with new investors over recapitalisation this month, Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi said on Wednesday.

Stocks gained for the second day running on Wednesday with Vodacom among the top gainers on upbeat quarterly results while metal prices boosted miners.

Top home appliances makers Whirlpool Corp and Electrolux are raising prices to pass soaring raw materials costs onto customers and will rely on emerging markets to drive growth.

A cocoa export ban in Ivory Coast and a liquidity shortage since incumbent Laurent Gbagbo seized the central bank's local branch has left the top grower's cocoa industry in chaos, with beans piling up on farms or being smuggled out, farmers said on Wednesday.

Major automakers shut down plants in six Midwest states and Ontario on Wednesday, after a winter storm that swept through the region a day before cut off shipments of parts and raw materials.

K&L Gates has opened a new office in Brussels, Belgium, in its bid to expand its presence in Europe and has poached on two partners from McDermott Will & Emery to lead the office.

Colorado's Secretary of State Scott Gessler has given up his plan of moonlighting at his old law firm to supplement his government salary, after it prompted widespread calls for his resignation.

Colleen R. LaRose, a Pennsylvania woman also known as 'Jihad Jane,' has pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder a Swedish cartoonist, providing material support to terrorists, and other criminal charges

Rioting and rock throwing between pro and anti-government supporters broke in out in bloody clashes in one of Cairo's main squares on Wednesday, just one day after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he would not step down until the next election in September.

U.S. private employers added more jobs than expected in January, the 12th consecutive month that companies took on staff, adding to hopes that the weak American labor market is slowly improving.

Gap Inc named Art Peck as president of Gap North America replacing Marka Hansen, and the retailer said it would merge its outlet division with its namesake and Banana Republic brands.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday after a report showed U.S. private sector added more jobs than expected in January.

Major automakers shut down plants in six Midwest states and Ontario on Wednesday after a winter storm that swept through the region a day before cut off shipments of parts and raw materials.

Japan's Sony Corp is expected to post a 15 percent fall in October-December profit on Thursday, hurt by a stronger yen and tough price competition in the flat TV market.

Drugmaker Roche faces a double whammy in 2011 as demand for best-selling Avastin cancer drug slows and U.S. healthcare reforms combined with a drive by European governments to cut drugs bills eats into its profit.

Time Warner Inc posted a rise in fourth quarter revenue and profit thanks to a 21 percent jump in advertising sales at its cable networks division.

Amazon.com is developing a film streaming service, which would compete directly with Netflix Inc, the Financial Times said.

The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms in January rose 20 percent from the previous month to 38,519, but the tally was still the lowest for a January since at least 1993, according to a report released on Wednesday.