IBT Staff Reporter

American authorities are investigating the U.S. division of global banking group HSBC <0005.HK> over its compliance with anti-money laundering procedures, according to a regulatory filing.

Stocks cut early gains to trade little changed on Wednesday as investors reassessed economic data, focusing on the prospect of a long, slow recovery.

No. 2 U.S. homebuilder PulteGroup Inc swung to a profit in the second quarter, helped by tax benefits and lower land-related charges, as the nation's housing market pulls out of a prolonged slump.

Oil company BP claimed a significant milestone in efforts to plug a leaking well for good on Wednesday ahead of a U.S. government report that will show most of the spilled crude is already gone.

Time Warner Inc posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday on a revenue surge -- the highest growth rate in two years.

The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms rose 6 percent in July, marking the third straight month of increased layoffs, though downsizing activity appears to be slowing, a report on Wednesday showed.

More than 2,000 mining executives and financiers spent the last three days in this gritty Outback mining hub attacking the nation's prime minister for proposing a new tax on iron ore and coal mines.

A multibillion-dollar settlement to the victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme has been held up by lawsuits competing for the same funds from the estate of the late investor and philanthropist Jeffry Picower, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Wall Street was set for a higher open on Wednesday, boosted by better-than-expected data on the labor market and a handful of positive earnings reports.

Concerns about new banking regulations and a shaky economic recovery tempered optimism over improving results from more of Europe's top banks on Wednesday.

The Israeli importer of Apple products said it would begin selling iPads in Israel in a few weeks, four months after the government lifted a ban on people bringing the device into the country.

Finally, there is a silver lining for the once famous Kolar gold mines in Karnataka. In a landmark verdict, the Karnataka high court has asked the Indian government to take all steps to revive Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML) in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF). The court also said no global tenders should be floated for the revival.

Private employers added 42,000 jobs in July, compared to a revised gain of 19,000 in June, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

Nearly 3 billion people, or two-fifths of the world's population, were at risk of contracting malaria in 2009 and closer study of the mosquito's life cycle is needed to combat the disease, researchers said in two reports.

More than 72 million U.S. adults, or 26.7 percent, are obese, up 1 percentage point in two years, the U.S. government reported on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday ordered at least one Research In Motion's BlackBerry smartphone service to be blocked as of Friday, becoming the latest government to threaten to curb the device on security grounds.

Stock index futures slipped on Wednesday, ahead of data on the jobs market, as jitters over the pace of the economic recovery prompted investors to lock in profits.

Research In Motion unveiled a new BlackBerry aimed at wooing consumers away from Apple's iPhone and other rivals, but analysts said the handset won't blow away the competition.

AOL Inc on Wednesday posted a major quarterly loss in the second quarter due to a goodwill impairment charge related to its sale of social networking site Bebo and a precipitous drop in advertising revenue.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, often dubbed the Oracle of Omaha, has seen the future of fashion in the most unlikely of places, bearing a Made in China label better known for its cheap than chic.

Google is set to allow advertisers in Europe to use rivals' trademarks when bidding for online ads in a move that will prevent big brand owners from controlling which ads appear during users' searches.

Slowly China is beating India in gold business and the Dragon land is making considerable progress in the yellow metal trade. As part of its strategy to expand the gold business, China has allowed more banks to import and export gold.

The dollar neared a 15-year low against the yen on Wednesday, staying under pressure across the board as weak U.S. data and talk of further policy easing from the Federal Reserve weighed on Treasury yields.

Oil fell on Wednesday for the first day in five as a rally that powered prices to three-month highs near $83 a day earlier lost steam, with little reaction to an attack on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Gold rose above $1,190 an ounce in Europe on Wednesday, benefiting from softer appetite for assets such as stocks and hopes for a rise in Asian demand, though an ongoing dearth of safe-haven demand capped gains. Spot gold rose to a high of $1,197.05 an ounce, its strongest since July 23, and was bid at $1,194.95 an ounce at 5:37 a.m. ET versus $1,185.35 late in New York on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose $9.60 to $1,197.10.

More of Europe's top banks beat earnings forecasts on Wednesday, as bad debts shrank more than expected in the first half, outweighing a slowdown in investment banking, which was hit by sovereign debt fears.

The yen rose toward a 15-year high against the dollar on Wednesday, sending benchmark government bond yields below 1 percent and adding pressure on Japanese policymakers to keep the fragile economic recovery on course.

The European Union Commission rejected Research in Motion's BlackBerry in favor of Apple's iPhone and HTC smartphones, a spokesman said, amid a spreading row about BlackBerry security.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open for Wall Street on Wednesday, after disappointing housing and consumer spending data released a day earlier prompted some worries over the pace of economic recovery.