IBT Staff Reporter

When Slovakia adopted the euro in January, Alexander Joszay loved driving across the border to Hungary, where financial crisis had weakened the forint to deliver lower prices for euro-earners.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday he believes strongly in the need to maintain a strong dollar and said the United States was determined to get its budget deficit down.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a nearly 1 percent rise at the open on Wednesday after data from China showed the world's third-largest economy was on track for faster growth, while comments from several Federal Reserve officials underscored a belief that low interest rates will remain intact.

The European Commission has set a one-month deadline to review Kraft Foods Inc's $16 billion hostile bid for British chocolate maker Cadbury after the U.S. food group notified EU regulators.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a nearly 1 percent rise at the open on Wednesday after data from China showed the world's third-largest economy was on track for faster growth, while comments from several Federal Reserve officials underscored a belief that low interest rates will remain intact.

The yen tested higher ground on Wednesday, buoyed by stop-loss buying and eking out gains against the high-yielding Australian dollar after a mixed batch of Chinese economic data.

Oil firmed above $79 on Wednesday as a 15 month low in the dollar diverted investors' focus from fundamentals, with weekly U.S. government inventory data being delayed by one day to Thursday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday he believes strongly in the need to maintain a strong dollar and said the United States was determined to get its budget deficit down.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc is offering a $100 gift card along with the purchase of a BlackBerry phone for one week, in its ongoing bid to attract more holiday shoppers.

The dollar hit a 15-month low against a currency basket on Wednesday as the U.S. currency came under broad selling pressure versus its higher-risk counterparts on the view that the global economy may be improving.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher opening on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.9 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.8 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.8 percent at 4:54 a.m. EST.

News, details on corporate bond issues in the European markets on Wednesday:

The dollar hit a 15-month low against a currency basket on Wednesday after Federal Reserve officials said any recovery in the U.S. economy would be erratic, bolstering the view that interest rates would stay low.

China will refer to changes in capital flows and fluctuations in the values of major currencies when guiding the value of the yuan, the central bank said on Wednesday, in a departure from past language.

The dollar hit a fresh 15-month low and world stocks held near a three-week high on Wednesday after remarks from Federal Reserve officials reinforced the view that U.S. interest rates will remain near zero for some time.

Unhappy over constraints imposed by U.S. government overseers, American International Group Inc Chief Executive Robert Benmosche told the company's board last week that he is considering stepping down, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Unhappy over constraints imposed by U.S. government overseers, American International Group Inc Chief Executive Robert Benmosche told the company's board last week that he is considering stepping down, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Unhappy over constraints imposed by U.S. government overseers, American International Group Inc Chief Executive Robert Benmosche told the company's board last week that he is considering stepping down, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

China said on Wednesday it will consider major currencies in guiding the yuan, suggesting a departure from an effective dollar peg that has been in place since the middle of last year.

Asian stocks rose for a fourth day in a row on Wednesday as Chinese factory output jumped to a 19-month high in October, while the ailing U.S. dollar hovered near a 15-month low.

Gold shot to a record high on Wednesday as the dollar slipped to its lowest in more than a year and analysts predict further gains for the precious metal on the U.S. unit's persistent weakness.

Asian stocks rose for a fourth day on Wednesday as reports showed Chinese factory output jumped to a 19-month high in October, while the ailing U.S. dollar hovered near a 15-month low.

Pushing for tougher changes in U.S. financial regulations, the Senate's top banking legislator on Tuesday proposed a new super-cop to police banks, a systemic risk agency and strong consumer protections.

Oil eased below $79 a barrel on Wednesday, as mildly bearish October loans data from China offset signs of robust industrial output and retail sales from the world's second-largest energy consumer.

High unemployment and reluctant consumers will likely make an incipient U.S. economic recovery weak and erratic, top Federal Reserve officials said in a string of speeches across the country on Tuesday.

High unemployment and reluctant consumers will likely make an incipient U.S. economic recovery weak and erratic, top Federal Reserve officials said in a string of speeches across the country on Tuesday.

Oil rose above $79 a barrel on Wednesday, after dipping a day earlier, as signs of robust economic growth in China offset mildly bearish U.S. industry data showing surprise builds in crude and distillate stockpiles.

The U.S. economy faces a weak recovery that will likely warrant extremely low interest rates for the foreseeable future, a top Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday.

A settlement between mobile phone users and companies that charged them for downloaded ringtones and games they thought were free was approved by a court on Tuesday.