IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks finished flat on Wednesday as cautious comments from FedEx and weak housing market data overshadowed a surge in industrial production.

General Mills Inc has begun investigating a hoax press release that said U.S. President Barack Obama had ordered a probe into the cereal maker's supply chain.

Oil giant BP said it would not pay three quarters of dividends, significantly reduce its investment program and sell $10 billion of assets to fund a planned $20 billion fund to pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has begun to bite oilfield service companies, with market analysts now forecasting lower than expected spending on new projects in the region and pressure on drilling stocks.

Housing starts hit a five-month low in May as a homebuyer tax credit expired while wholesale prices remained subdued, giving the Federal Reserve ample room to maintain its ultra-low interest rate policy.

General Mills Inc was the subject of a hoax press release saying that U.S. President Barack Obama had ordered a probe into the cereal maker's supply chain.

Companies are getting an excessive $52 billion tax break on stock options issued to their executives, new data from a U.S. Senate panel showed on Wednesday.

AOL Inc is close to selling social network site Bebo to private investment firm Criterion Capital Partners, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

FedEx Corp said on Wednesday that healthcare and pension costs will pinch profits in 2011, sending its shares down despite quarterly results that beat analysts' expectations.

Oil giant BP said it would cut three quarters of dividends, significantly reduce its investment program and sell $10 billion of assets to fund a planned $20 billion fund to pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Oil giant BP said it would cut three quarters of dividends, significantly reduce its investment program and sell $10 billion of assets to fund a planned $20 billion fund to pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the column are hers. You can follow Linda Stern's financial notes on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/lindastern

After heavy criticism of its handling of the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday appeared likely to escape the most aggressive congressional scrutiny of its interest rate deliberations.

Corrects to say three, not four quarters of dividends cut, in first paragraph

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday it will propose increased disclosure in the marketing of the increasingly popular target date mutual funds.

(Corrects spelling of Bloomberg in 15th paragraph)

U.S. stocks slipped on Wednesday as a warning from FedEx , which said higher costs would crimp profits next year, overshadowed a surge in industrial production.

The U.S. economy is slowly healing and will avoid a relapse into recession, the American Bankers Association's economic advisory committee said on Wednesday.

BP Plc on Wednesday agreed to a demand by U.S. President Barack Obama to pay $20 billion into a special fund to handle claims from its huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill and said it was suspending payment of dividends this year.

Apple Inc sold more than 600,000 of its newest iPhone after a single day of preorders, blowing away most expectations and sending its shares up more than 2 percent on Wednesday.

Nintendo Co Ltd has considered a share buyback, but only if a specific need arises, the company's president said on Wednesday.

A résumé without the targeted law enforcement content presented to a police department would not contain the appropriate content to get noticed.

After considerable pressure brought to bear, President Barack Obama is slated to meet this week with BP executives at the White House. The topic at hand of course is how to deal with the oil crisis in the Gulf. As that crisis lingers on, it is imperative that all key leaders get together to work on solutions.

A New Jersey woman was arrested on Wednesday and charged with running a $45 million Ponzi scheme in which she allegedly promised investors high returns from real estate, but instead used their money to repay other investors and gamble at casinos.

Housing starts hit a five-month low in May as a homebuyer tax credit expired, while wholesale prices remained subdued, giving the Federal Reserve ample room to maintain its ultra-low interest rate policy.

The Dow and S&P 500 dipped on Wednesday after concerns about FedEx's warning on higher costs, while optimism stirred by Apple Inc's stronger-than-expected iPhone sales helped the Nasdaq.

Smokers often say they need a cigarette to calm their nerves, but a new study suggests that after a person kicks the habit, chronic stress levels may go down.

More than 90 U.S. banks and thrifts missed making a May 17 payment to the U.S. government under its main bank bailout program, signaling a rising number of lenders are struggling to meet their obligations.

After suffering more than a year of abuse over its role in the financial crisis, the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday was poised to beat back the most aggressive attempt to open its operations to congressional scrutiny.