IBT Staff Reporter

Asian stocks pulled back from six-month highs on Wednesday but held up after the drop on Wall Street overnight, with hopes for more Chinese stimulus spending helping offset reports of weak first-quarter growth.

UBS made a first-quarter loss and will cut another 11 percent of staff, its new chief executive said on Wednesday, warning that Switzerland's largest bank still faces an uncertain future.

Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc's first-quarter aluminum output fell 6 percent, mostly due to curtailments in Europe, as the world's biggest producer attempted to better balance supply with sinking global demand from industrial sectors, the company said on Wednesday.

Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz on Wednesday reported a bigger than expected 3 percent year-on-year fall in sales at established stories in March.

The Obama administration is drawing up plans to disclose the financial condition of the 19 biggest banks in the country, the New York Times said, citing senior administration officials.

Blackrock Inc will raise between $5 billion and $7 billion in toxic assets from U.S. financial institutions through a planned government program.

U.S. representative Ed Towns of New York has contacted insurance giant American International Group to express concern about bailout funds being used to fight back against critics of the firm.

A new survey shows that more chief executives received pay raises than pay cuts in 2008.

Federal Reserve Bank officials are considering whether to hold regular news conferences, people familiar with the matter tell the Wall Street Journal.

Officials at the Federal Reserve have discussed holding regular press briefings to help improve public understanding of unusual actions by the Fed in times of crisis, a Fed official said on Tuesday.

Officials at the Federal Reserve have discussed holding regular press briefings to help improve public understanding of unusual actions by the Fed in times of crisis, a Fed official said on Tuesday.

Microsoft Corp said it will launch a test version of its Exchange Server on Wednesday, marking the latest development in the technology used by 65 percent of businesses worldwide to run their e-mail systems.

Meet the new Goldman Sachs, trying to be the same as the old Goldman Sachs.

Officials at the Federal Reserve have discussed holding regular press briefings to help improve public understanding of unusual actions by the Fed in times of crisis, a Fed official said on Tuesday.

AT&T Inc is in talks with Apple Inc to extend its exclusive U.S. agreement to sell the iPhone from 2010 to 2011, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Yahoo Inc is preparing to lay off several hundred workers in the first round of cuts since Carol Bartz became chief executive in January, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

News Corp said on Tuesday that it has formed a new unit to share journalism across all its properties, including The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Fox News and The Times of London.

A new racing car made with potatoes and carrots and is powered with chocolate waste is been developed by the Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre of the University of Warwicks in the U.K.

The United States on Tuesday held out the chance of attending a U.N. conference on racism in Geneva next week but said the final text must remove what Washington views as restrictions on freedom of speech.

Bolivian President Evo Morales ended a five-day hunger strike on Tuesday after lawmakers approved a controversial electoral law that allows him to run for a second term and seek a majority in Congress.

EBay Inc plans to spin off its Skype unit, acknowledging that the Web telephone service does not fit with the rest of the company, in an indictment of former CEO Meg Whitman's acquisition strategy.

North Korea said on Tuesday it would quit international nuclear disarmament talks and restart a plant that makes bomb-grade plutonium after the United Nations chastised it for launching a long-range rocket.

North Korea ordered U.N. inspectors to leave on Tuesday after saying it would quit international nuclear disarmament talks and restart a plant that makes bomb-grade plutonium, the United Nations said.

The American ship captain held hostage by Somali pirates will return to the United States with his crew Wednesday.

U.S. President Obama said in a speech on economy Tuesday that recent stimulus measures are starting to generate signs of economic progress, but more tough times are ahead.

Intel Corp smashed quarterly earnings expectations and declared that the worst may be over for the tech sector, but its shares slid 4.5 percent after it failed to give a clear revenue forecast.

Intel Corp.'s first-quarter profit blew past Wall Street's grim forecasts but failed to provide a formal revenue outlook for the current quarter, sending its shares down 4.6 percent.

On Tuesday hopes of the recession coming to an end were dashed sending U.S. stocks down after reports of the economy and banking sector.