IBT Staff Reporter

British oil explorer Heritage Oil (HOIL.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Wednesday it has discovered up to 4.2 billion barrels of oil in the Kurdish area of Iraq, adding to pressure on Baghdad and the autonomous region to unblock a legal impasse stalling oil projects.

A Texas woman with the new H1N1 flu died earlier this week, state health officials said, the second death outside of Mexico, where the epidemic appeared to be waning.

Ford Motor Co on Wednesday unveiled a $550 million investment to convert an SUV plant near Detroit to build a new generation of Focus small cars next year and a battery-electric Focus in 2011.

A Texan with H1N1 flu died earlier this week, state officials said, only the second death outside Mexico where the epidemic appeared to be waning.

Pakistani security forces attacked Taliban fighters on Wednesday killing at least 64 of them, the military said, after the United States called on the government to show its commitment to fighting militancy.

South Africa's parliament is set to choose Jacob Zuma as state president on Wednesday after his ruling ANC's resounding election victory, capping a remarkable political comeback.

The man accused of being the lone surviving gunman from last year's Mumbai attack pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 86 charges against him, including murder and waging war against India, lawyers said.

The Nasdaq turned negative on Wednesday as investors rotated bets out of technology companies and into financials. The KBW Bank index jumped 7 percent.

A truck bomb killed 10 people and wounded 37 others when it exploded early on Wednesday morning in a wholesale vegetable market in southern Baghdad, police said.

Kashmir's separatist leaders are struggling to win back popular support, and are hoping that a boycott of Thursday's election to the Indian parliament may yet breathe new life into the 20-year movement.

Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc , the second-largest global insurance broker, posted a first-quarter profit on Wednesday, reversing a year-earlier loss, as lower costs helped offset a decline in revenue.

NATO began military exercises in Georgia on Wednesday in a move Russia said threatened stability in the region just nine months after a war between the former Soviet neighbors.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge has approved bidding procedures for the rapid sale of most of bankrupt vehicle maker Chrysler's assets.

China said on Wednesday it was concerned after a standoff in the Yellow Sea between a U.S. Navy surveillance ship and two Chinese fishing vessels, accusing the U.S. vessel of contravening international laws.

U.S. President Barack Obama will urge the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan to put aside a history of mistrust and join Washington in an alliance against Islamic extremists at a White House meeting on Wednesday, senior administration officials said.

Regulators have told Bank of America Corp it needs $34 billion of capital to withstand a deep economic downturn, an industry source familiar with results of a government stress test said late on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers reached agreement on Tuesday on a legislative proposal designed to stimulate U.S. auto sales, which have fallen to near 30-year lows.

U.S. private-sector job losses slowed much more than expected in April, hitting their lowest since November last year, according to a report by ADP Employer Services on Wednesday.

Oil rose more than $1 and broke above $55 a barrel on Wednesday, bouncing up from moribund early trade around $54 after data showed U.S. private sector job losses had slowed in April.

Europe's energy networks will receive a 4-billion-euro ($5.3 billion) upgrade to make them more robust and flexible in future energy crises following a vote in the European Union assembly on Wednesday.

By now, most smart money has typically pegged the US recovery in late 09, early 2010.

China's booming hydropower sector is facing mounting criticism for generating subprime carbon credits from projects that don't need extra earnings to succeed, raising the risk of tougher rules and putting billions of dollars of clean energy investments at risk.

Wall Street was poised for a higher open on Wednesday as encouraging signs about the job market offset renewed concern about the health of banks after a source told Reuters stress tests show Bank of America has a $34 billion capital shortfall.

Retailers, seeking to cut costs in the economic downturn, need to continue investing in environmental sustainability if they want to retain customers, according to a report published on Wednesday.

Solar, like much of the cleantech industry, should prove a profitable bet for investors over the next decade as demand grows and costs fall, a top cleantech strategist said on Wednesday.

U.S. private sector job losses slowed in April, according to a report by ADP Employer Services on Wednesday, hitting their lowest since November last year and surprising economists who had expected a much worse result.

Jim Balsillie, the co-chief executive of Canadian smartphone maker Research in Motion, is trying to import a professional hockey team to Canada for the third time in a move that looks likely to put him on a collision course with the National Hockey League.

Stock index futures turned positive on Wednesday after better-than-expected data on private-sector employment.

Wall Street was set for a lower open on Wednesday on renewed concern about the health of banks after a source said government stress test results show Bank of America needs as much as $34 billion in capital.