IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks added to gains on Wednesday as investors turned to financial stocks following factory and home sales data that showed the economic slump could be moderating.

Ford Motor Co posted a 41 percent drop in U.S. sales in March from a year ago with declines across all its major vehicle segments as the industry continued to feel the impact from a deep recession.

Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors turned to financial stocks following factory and home sales data that showed the economic slump could be moderating.

Millie Sauer did not even know she had suffered a stroke until she tried to read a book as she recovered from surgery and saw only a gray blur for part of the page.

Finnish Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said thousands of developers and content providers had registered to sell content in its online store, Ovi, which will be opened in early May.

Borders Group Inc plans to close most of its Waldenbooks stores as it cuts costs and strives to pay down debt amid a bleak environment for U.S. book retailers.

U.S. factory activity shrank in March, though at a slower pace than the previous month, suggesting the sector remains a drag on the economy, according to an industry report released on Wednesday.

Stocks pared losses and briefly turned positive on Wednesday following data that showed an index of manufacturing activity rose more than expected in March, while sales of existing homes rose in February.

Oil fell more than 3 percent to below $48 on Wednesday, pressured by bearish economic news and a 16-year high in U.S. crude inventories.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday there was enormous consensus between the largest developed and emerging economies on plans to haul the world out of the deepest downturn since the 1930s.

The U.S. auto industry struggled to restructure and added deals to get buyers back into their showrooms, hoping to mimic the incentive-driven successes their European rivals started to see during March.

Stocks rose on Wednesday as data on home sales and manufacturing added to hopes that the economic slump was moderating, prompting investors to scoop up bank shares.

Mounting job losses and plans to lay off more workers continued to weigh on the U.S. economy in March, according to private reports that have analysts and investors bracing for more grim U.S. government labor market data from the government on Friday.

Karrie Karahalios can show a child with Asperger's Syndrome when he's lost in a conversational riff or a taciturn spouse when he doesn't speak very much.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday there was enormous consensus between the world's largest developed and emerging economies on plans to haul the world out of the deepest downturn since the 1930s.

U.S. President Barack Obama denied rifts between the world's leading economies on the eve of a crisis summit and urged them on Wednesday to act together to find the fastest route out of global recession.

Research In Motion has launched an online store selling entertainment, games, news, and travel applications to its BlackBerry users.

The Obama administration is seeking to ease General Motors Corp into a controlled bankruptcy by persuading some creditors to agree to a plan that would divide the company into two pieces, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

European car markets reported tentative shoots of recovery on Wednesday but Honda moved to further cut U.S. output as General Motors Corp faced a rising bankruptcy risk and Chrysler raced to secure its survival.

Russia and the United States will pursue a new deal to cut nuclear warheads, presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama said on Wednesday, making good on a pledge to rebuild relations from a post-Cold War low.

Fresh speculation has swirled about mining giant BHP Billiton resurrecting a takeover bid for rival Rio Tinto, but such a move is unlikely before Rio repairs its balance sheet.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday there was enormous consensus between the world's largest developed and emerging economies on plans to haul the world out of the deepest downturn since the 1930s.

Hewlett-Packard Co is studying uses for Google Inc's Android operating system, but the world's top PC maker stopped short of saying it had decided to adopt the fledgling software in its products.

Taliban insurgents rejected on Wednesday a U.S. offer of honorable reconciliation as a lunatic idea and said the withdrawal of foreign troops was the only way to end the war in Afghanistan.

The Obama administration is seeking to ease General Motors Corp into a controlled bankruptcy by persuading some creditors to agree to a plan that would divide the company into two pieces, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

World stocks kicked off a new quarter Wednesday with strong gains in Japan and losses in Europe after registering their best monthly performance since December 1999.

Server and data storage products maker Rackable Systems Inc on Wednesday said it agreed to acquire Silicon Graphics Inc, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier in the day, for about $25 million in cash.

The European Union's executive arm dropped its case against payment network MasterCard's transaction fees on Wednesday in return for a pledge to cut them, enraging retailers who want the fees scrapped altogether.

Fortis was set on Wednesday to postpone a shareholder vote on the sale of its former banking arm to BNP Paribas, casting fresh doubt over whether it can complete the deal.