IBT Staff Reporter

The S&P 500 briefly pared losses and turned positive after the open on Wednesday, led by gains in financials and materials stocks.

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc reported a lower quarterly profit on Wednesday, hurt by falling food prices and lackluster demand for its general merchandise.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc could have suffered dramatic losses if the federal government had not intervened to prop up American International Group Inc, according to a government report.

American Express Co agreed to acquire Internet-based payment platform Revolution Money for $300 million, the credit card company and network said on Wednesday.

Construction of new homes in the United States fell sharply last month, showing potential weakness in the economy's recovery, while consumer prices rose slightly more than expected.

Hong Leong Group, owned by Singapore billionaire Kwek Leng Beng, has received approaches about its 90 percent stake in Xinfei, China's No.3 refrigerator maker by market share, the company said on Wednesday.

Potential weakness for economy; Thain seeks new start; Financial reform taking shape

British cable operator Virgin Media is continually looking to take costs out of the business and expects to reduce its property portfolio as part of that drive, its finance officer said on Wednesday.

Malaysian telecoms company Axiata said it will form a strategic partnership with world No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker Huawei to develop new technology and cut Axiata's equipment procurement costs.

The world may have already moved on, but quantitative finance guru Paul Wilmott is undaunted in his quest to save the global financial system from mindless mathematicians.

U.S. stocks were set to open lower on Wednesday after data showed U.S. housing starts fell unexpectedly in October, offsetting strength in the natural resources sectors amid U.S. dollar weakness.

Vestas Wind Systems said Wednesday it plans to announce significant orders for its wind turbines in the next five months, citing a pick-up in demand for wind power in Asia as more funding for projects becomes available.

Chile's peso CLP= rose 1 percent to a 17-month high in early trade on Wednesday on global dollar weakness, increasing the likelihood of threatened central bank intervention to tame the appreciation.

A looming government clampdown on CO2 emissions is about to confront an already embattled U.S. coal power industry with two stark options: capture carbon or die.

Investors shifted out of bonds into equities and commodities in November as confidence in the global economic recovery underpinned their risk appetite, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Wind farms account for about a quarter of Australian electricity generating developments now under construction or planned as the country moves to increase its reliance on renewable energy, a government report said on Wednesday.

India's Suzlon Energy said on Wednesday its German unit REpower Systems has signed a contract to supply wind turbines with a total capacity of 18.45 megawatts to U.S. firm Heritage Sustainable Energy LLC.

It sounds painful, but shockwave therapy may be an effective treatment for men who suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED), according to a small study showcased here at the European Society for Sexual Medicine.

The European Union's Swedish presidency urged Russia on Wednesday to do more to combat climate change and discussed Russian energy supplies to Europe, which could be threatened by a dispute with Ukraine.

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp said steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal has pulled out of a project to jointly develop an oil block in Kazakhstan, but their partnerships in other blocks were intact.

U.S. oil major Chevron Corp is in talks with Turkmenistan over its possible participation in developing the giant South Iolotan gas field, the company's country head said on Wednesday.

Piped-gas supplier China Gas Holdings said on Wednesday that PetroChina is in talks to invest in a China Gas unit, which will distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for Asia's top oil producer.

Many people in the United States are still not being screened for high levels of so-called bad cholesterol, and when they are found to have it, are often never treated, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Energy firm Altona Energy Plc said it signed a joint venture deal with a unit of state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp to develop its project at Arckaringa in South Australia, sending its shares up as much as 42 percent.

Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are trying their hand at something new to dazzle their fans -- designing a jewelry collection.

Melrose Resources Plc said its third-quarter production rose about 25 percent, driven partly by strong performance from its Egyptian fields, and raised its working interest production forecast for 2009.

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said on Wednesday it would conduct a new late-stage trial to evaluate the effect of one of its drug candidates in combating a thickening of the arteries in patients.

Oil and gas company Sterling Energy PLC said it would launch an open offer at 1.3 pence per share to raise about 20.6 million pounds ($34.60 million).

U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in October, chiefly from increases in energy and motor vehicle costs, according to government data on Wednesday that showed the economy may have to confront some inflation threats during its recovery from the worst recession in 70 years.