IBT Staff Reporter

Stock futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rise 0.3 to 0.7 percent, pointing to a firmer start on Wall Street on Wednesday.

Retailers from Europe and Southeast Asia are expected to submit bids for Carrefour SA's roughly $1 billion (650 million pounds)-worth of Asian assets, with first-round offers due on Wednesday, sources said, in what is turning out to be a robust auction.

A law firm hired by the estate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc has demanded trading records, email and other material for all of 2008 from a few hedge funds and Goldman Sachs , the New York Times said.

Software giant Microsoft Corp is looking for a partner in China to help the company play a major role in China's internet search market, Wall Street Journal said.

China's manufacturing economy staged a moderate rebound in August after slowing for several months under the onslaught of government measures to rein in credit and deter property speculation.

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as investors cheered a manufacturing rebound in China and rosier-than-expected Australian growth, which halted the yen's advance toward a 15-year peak against the dollar.

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as investors cheered a manufacturing rebound in China and stronger-than-expected growth in Australia, while the yen inched up towards a 15-year peak against the dollar.

Hitachi Ltd <6501.T> is planning an initial public offering of its hard-drive unit in the United States, possibly by year's end, sources familiar with the situation said.

Gold dropped from a two-month high in Asian trade Wednesday but likely to regain momentum on new reports of improving consumer confidence and home sales in the US.

Citigroup Inc plans to almost triple its workforce in China by hiring up to 7,500 people in the next three years, an executive told Bloomberg in an interview published on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama declared an end to the seven-year U.S. combat mission in Iraq on Tuesday and promised recession-weary Americans my central responsibility now is to repair the U.S. economy.

Burger King Holdings Inc, the No. 2 U.S. hamburger chain, has been considering a possible sale and has held talks with potential buyers, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

China's manufacturing sector regained some momentum in August while India and Russia continued to power ahead, cheering investors in the face of signs that sputtering U.S. recovery was cooling global demand.

Mexico paraded one of its most violent drug lords on Tuesday after a police raid that President Felipe Calderon's government hopes will mark a breakthrough in its campaign against powerful cartels.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas claimed responsibility for killing four Jewish settlers in the West Bank in an attack that blighted a Middle East peace summit before it even began in Washington Wednesday.

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President Barack Obama declared an end to the seven-year U.S. combat mission in Iraq on Tuesday and told war-weary Americans his central responsibility now is to restore the sagging U.S. economy.

Powerful Hurricane Earl churned towards the eastern U.S. seaboard on Tuesday and looked to sideswipe the densely populated coast from North Carolina to New England, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said.

Corrects spelling of last name to Bird throughout, not Baird.

Already deprived of sunlight, fresh air and their loved ones for 26 days, NASA doctors say 33 miners trapped deep in a Chilean mine must continue to forego two other pleasures: alcohol and cigarettes.

August's unseasonable burst of dealmaking -- the busiest in over a decade -- could herald a wider rebound in M&A for the remainder of the year as low interest rates, record cash piles and low stock-market values encourage chief executives to strike deals.

The Canadian province of Saskatchewan, home of takeover target Potash Corp , would have lots of concerns about a Chinese sovereign fund or state-owned company buying part or all of the company, Energy Minister Bill Boyd said on Tuesday.

The outlook for the U.S. economy would have to deteriorate appreciably to spur fresh support from the Federal Reserve, according to minutes of the central bank's last policy meeting released on Tuesday.

Dutch authorities have detained two Yemeni men at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on suspicion of terrorist conspiracy, though a U.S. official on Tuesday cast doubt that they were part of a terrorism plot.

Four Israeli settlers were shot dead in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday in an attack that Islamist Palestinian group Hamas said was its first assault on Middle East peace talks due to start on Wednesday in Washington.

Ray Irani, who has been criticized for excessive pay, plans to announce his retirement date as chief executive officer of Occidental Petroleum Corp at a board meeting in October, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc has agreed to settle a private antitrust lawsuit over its exit from the online DVD market, according to court documents.

Powerful Hurricane Earl churned towards the eastern U.S. seaboard Tuesday and looked to sideswipe the densely populated coast from North Carolina to New England, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said.