IBT Staff Reporter

Hewlett-Packard Co on Wednesday reported first-quarter results.Highlights:* Q1 non-GAAP earnings per share $0.93 * Q1 GAAP earnings per share $0.75 * Sees Q2 2009 GAAP earnings per share about $0.70 to $0.72 * Sees Q2 2009 non-GAAP earnings per share about $0.84 to $0.86 * Sees FY 2009 GAAP earnings per share about $3.19 to $3.31 * Sees FY 2009 non-GAAP earnings per share ab...

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged lower on Wednesday, after bleak housing data overwhelmed President Barack Obama's $275 billion plan to prop up the housing market. * The Dow eked out a slight gain, narrowly avoiding a new bear-market low. * Adding to the somber mood, the Federal Reserve slashed its economic forecast for 2009, and several companies, including Deere & Co ,posted ...

U.S. President Barack Obama pledged up to $275 billion on Wednesday to help stem a wave of home foreclosures, part of a broad effort to lift the country out of recession. Up to 9 million families would be given the chance to refinance their mortgages under the plan, administration officials said. He unveiled the plan in Arizona, a state hard hit by home foreclosures. Obama, who a day earlier sig...

Facebook's efforts to build a business model around its online social network have hit another roadblock, as a backlash by its users forced the company to reverse a new policy.

The U.S. Federal Reserve cut its 2009 economic forecast sharply and discussed setting a target for inflation at its previous meeting as a deepening recession heightened fears of a dangerous decline in prices.

NEW YORK - Oil prices fell nearly 1 percent to below $35 a barrel on Wednesday as dealers bet that slumping fuel demand in top consumer the United States has forced crude inventories to an 11-year high. U.S. crude for March delivery slipped 31 cents to settle at $34.62 a barrel, while U.S. crude for April delivery fell $1.13 to $37.41 and London Brent for April delivery fell $1.48 to $39.55. Th...

NEW YORK - Playboy Enterprises Inc , publisher of one of the world's best known adult magazines, posted a wider fourth-quarter loss, hurt by $157.2 million in restructuring and other one-time costs, as well as weaker-than-expected revenue. The company, which posted a net loss in each quarter of 2008, also said it would be open to discussions about an outright sale of the company, o...

that is the rate of inflation that promotes maximum sustainable employment while also delivering reasonable price stability, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told the National Press Club. Taking on-the-record questions from the media for the first time since becoming Fed chairman, Bernanke said the long-run projections should help anchor the public's expectations about the future path of inflation i...

NEW YORK - Stocks eased in choppy trading on Wednesday as data pointing to yet more weakness in housing suggested the recession is deepening, offsetting a round of bargain-hunting following Tuesday's big market slide. Data showed U.S. housing starts and building permits dropped to record lows in January, with construction plans scrapped as unsold houses stood empty. Laggards included shares of...

DETROIT - A government-backed bankruptcy reorganization remains an option for saving General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, analysts said on Wednesday, even though the automakers have said they would rather not go down that road. GM and Chrysler asked for billions of dollars more in federal aid on Tuesday and announced sweeping changes including capacity reductions and job cuts. Some Wall Street...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged anew Wednesday to do everything in his power to lift the country out of recession, while defending the extraordinary steps the Fed has taken to fight the worst credit and financial crisis since the 1930s.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc said several partners must cover margin calls triggered by the depressed value of Goldman stock and many of the firm's hedge funds, but the bank denied it is lending money to its executives.

Freddie Mac, the No. 2 U.S. home funding company, on Wednesday sold a record $10 billion three-year reference notes, the largest single new issue since the government-sponsored enterprises started global note programs over a decade ago.

Billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc reduced stakes in health-care company Johnson & Johnson and consumer products company Procter & Gamble Co.

NEW YORK - Stocks dipped in choppy trading on Wednesday as data pointing to yet more weakness in housing suggested the recession is worsening, offsetting a search for bargains following Tuesday's big market slide. Data showed U.S. housing starts and building permits dropped to record lows in January, with construction plans scrapped as unsold houses stood empty. Drags included shares of financ...

ACCRA (Reuters) - African bank Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) (ETI.GH) raised $566 million in its share and rights issue late last year, far short of the $2.5 billion targeted, a broker involved in the operation said on Wednesday.

Israel decided Wednesday against lifting its border blockade of the Gaza Strip until Hamas agreed to the release of a captured Israeli soldier, putting a longer-term ceasefire proposal by Egypt on hold.

that is the rate of inflation that promotes maximum sustainable employment while also delivering reasonable price stability, Bernanke said. He said the long-run projections should help anchor the public's expectations about the future path of inflation in a way that could help prevent a self-feeding inflationary, or deflationary, psychology. Bernanke said aggressive steps the Fed had taken t...

NEW YORK - Wells Fargo & Co shares fell on Wednesday to their lowest level in almost 12 years before recovering amid fears the fourth-largest U.S. bank could cut its dividend and post higher losses after its purchase of Wachovia. The combined Wells Fargo and Wachovia last month posted a $13.72 billion fourth-quarter loss as it set aside more money to cover sour mortgages and ot...

DETROIT - A government-backed bankruptcy reorganization may still be a viable option for saving General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, analysts said on Wednesday, even though the automakers have said they would rather not go down that road. GM and Chrysler asked for billions of dollars more in federal aid on Tuesday and announced sweeping changes including capacity reduction and job ...

Commercial printer Transcontinental Inc is slashing 1,500 jobs or about 10 percent of its workforce as a rapid deterioration of the economy forces its customers to cut back on marketing spending, it said on Wednesday.

Telecoms executives are keeping faith in emerging markets despite currency gyrations amid the global economic downturn.

French cosmetic and hygiene group Johnson & Johnson, won permission from the European Commission on Wednesday, to take full control of two French makers of feminine protection products.

* Trading was volatile, with investors weighing a plan released by the Obama administration to stem home foreclosures. * There's a process of evaluating the stimulus plan and the foreclosure plan. People are looking to see whether we're going the right path or not, said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois. * The Dow Jones industrial average

WASHINGTON - U.S. housing starts and building permits dropped to record lows in January, data showed Wednesday, as builders shelved construction plans to try to clear a glut of unsold houses caused by a slump in demand. The data came as President Barack Obama unveiled a plan pledging up to $275 billion to help stem home foreclosures in an attempt to break the housing sector's downward spiral, w...

The Turkish equities lira firmed against the dollar on Wednesday and stocks pared some losses following improved sentiment in U.S. bourses and positive news on Turkey's International Monetary Fund talks.

Corrects to say that Wal-Mart has since sold more than 2 million MoneyCards, not 2 billion By Nicole Maestri NEW YORK - A year and a half after introducing its MoneyCard, Wal-Mart Stores Inc is slashing the price of the reloadable, prepaid Visa debit card to $3 from almost $9, aiming to attract shoppers who may have grown wary of the pitfalls of credit card use. The discount retailer is also l...

Afghanistan is turning a new page in relations with the United States, an Afghan presidential spokesman said on Wednesday, as U.S. President Barack Obama ordered 17,000 more troops deployed to battle Taliban insurgents.

LONDON - U.S. oil prices fell below $35 a barrel on Wednesday, continuing Tuesday's nearly 7 percent slide on renewed economy concerns, slumping demand and bloated inventories. U.S. crude for March delivery fell 4 cents to $34.89 a barrel by 10:53 a.m. EST, while London Brent crude for April delivery was down 92 cents to $40.11 a barrel. The crude market is still hanging on to the low end of...