IBT Staff Reporter

General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeff Immelt told shareholders on Wednesday that it is hard to tell how long the current global recession will linger.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as a broker upgrade of Caterpillar lifted big manufacturers, while biotechnology shares got a lift from better-than-expected results from Gilead Sciences.

Britain will fund at least two and up to four carbon capture and storage demonstration plants, from previous plans to support just one, finance minister Alistair Darling said on Wednesday.

Environment ministers from rich and poor nations discussed a green technology stimulus on Wednesday to help tackle global warming and overcome the global economic crisis.

The German cabinet backed a new draft law Wednesday that would make it harder to access child pornography online and easier to prosecute those who use it.

David Kellermann, acting chief financial officer of mortgage giant Freddie Mac, was found dead on Wednesday in his suburban Virginia home after apparently committing suicide, a local police source said.

The U.S. economy is starting to show signs of shrinking more slowly but positive growth is not expected until sometime next year, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

McDonald's Corp reported a higher quarterly profit on Wednesday, as global sales at established restaurants rose despite a recession, and the company said its April same-store sales are trending at least as strong or better than results from the first quarter.

Stocks rose on Wednesday, helped by a jump in shares of big manufacturers, including Caterpillar Inc and Boeing Co , while upbeat broker comments on Gilead Sciences Inc lifted biotech shares.

Wells Fargo & Co on Wednesday posted a $3.05 billion first-quarter profit, in line with its prior forecast, as a surge in mortgage banking as well as benefits from the purchase of Wachovia Corp offset rising credit losses.

U.S. banks will be briefed by regulators as early as Friday on how they performed in government stress tests, before the results are made public later, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing government officials.

Yahoo Inc., owner of the second- most popular U.S. search engine, said Tuesday it will cut hundreds of people from its work force after reporting a 78 percent drop in first quarter profit.

Pepsi Bottling Group Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast on Wednesday, helped by price increases and cost cuts.

McDonald's Corp posted a 3.5 percent increase in quarterly profit on Wednesday, as sales at established restaurants rose despite a recession, and the company said April same-store sales are trending at least as strong or better than results in first quarter.

The mother of a teenager facing trial in the United States for piracy off Somalia wants President Barack Obama to pardon her son because he was misled into joining a sea gang.

Wall Street was poised for a lower open on Wednesday as investors took in a slew of mixed results from major companies and a quarterly loss from Morgan Stanley increased jitters over the financial sector.

The United States is pushing the use of plug-in hybrids but these cars, which sip gasoline and are low in greenhouse gas emissions, face cost and infrastructure hurdles that will keep them out of the mainstream for years.

The European Union pledged at least 60 million euros ($77.54 million) on Wednesday to support security forces in Somalia and African Union peacekeepers based in the conflict ridden region.

Residents of the Thai capital produce as much carbon pollution as New Yorkers and more than Londoners, a U.N.-backed study released on Wednesday shows.

Maoist rebels, some armed with bows and arrows, briefly hijacked a train with around 500 passengers in eastern India on Wednesday in a show of strength on the eve of the second stage of India's general election.

Health insurer WellPoint Inc posted slightly lower first-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by large investment losses, but results far surpassed Wall Street forecasts.

The South Korean parliament's foreign affairs committee approved on Wednesday a free trade deal with the United States signed two years ago, paving the way for the entire assembly to vote on the pact this month.

U.S. credit card companies are expected to use a White House meeting to put their best foot forward, despite an avalanche of negative publicity, aiming to blunt a congressional push for tougher regulations.

Israel demolished a Palestinian house in Arab East Jerusalem on Wednesday, a day after U.S. President Barack Obama called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take measures to promote peacemaking.

AT&T Inc posted a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit due to strong growth in its nascent video and high-speed Internet service, sending shares up 2 percent.

Thousands more civilians surged out of Sri Lanka's war zone on Wednesday, while soldiers and Tamil Tiger rebels fought the apparent endgame of Asia's longest-running war despite calls to protect those still trapped.

Iran's president accused Israel on Wednesday of brutal acts and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians, two days after his denunciation of the Jewish state as racist prompted a walk-out from a U.N. meeting on race.

South Africans vote in national and provincial elections on Wednesday with the ruling ANC expected to win, but with a reduced majority.

Morgan Stanley posted its second straight quarterly loss on Wednesday and slashed its dividend as real estate investment losses and a charge from the improving value of it own debt wiped out gains in its trading businesses.