IBT Staff Reporter

Merrill Lynch & Co is negotiating to hire the former head of Goldman Sachs' asset management division, Peter Kraus to a position overseeing strategy, according Bloomberg.

Microsoft's board of directors did not reach a final decision at a Wednesday meeting about what steps it should take in its bid for Yahoo, according to a report.

A majority of credit and risk management executives at the top 50 U.S. banks and credit card issuers say the current credit crisis is a manageable setback, according to new survey.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported a first quarter net loss of $4.2 million or 11 cents a share compared to $32.7 million or 92 cents a share the previous year. The loss is smaller than expected.

Sugar tumbled in New York following a decline of crude oil that raised speculation that demand for alternative fuels such as ethanol made from sugar cane would fall.

Kraft Foods Inc. the North American food maker, posted a better than expected first quarter profit as higher prices and new products helped sales of the company in a market where commodities such as wheat and oil were soaring.

Cablevision Systems Corp. plans to make an offer of up to $650 million to purchase Newsday from Tribune Co., according to media reports released Wednesday.

Coffeehouse giant Starbucks Corp on Wednesday reported a 28 percent drop in quarterly profit, and forecast its first annual earnings drop since 2000.

Copper futures rose after a report on Wednesday said U.S. gross domestic product gained more than expected in the first quarter.

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. said Wednesday they have agreed to extend their merger agreement.

The dollar fell against major currencies on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve made an expected quarter point cut in its benchmark interest rate to 2 percent but left open the possibility to further rate cuts, raising concerns about inflation.

Gold futures rallied in electronic trading Wednesday, recovering losses from their decline in the regular session, after the Federal Reserve's announced its decision to cut the main U.S. interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2 percent which boosted demand for the precious metal.

Factors Behind High Distillate Prices More Complex Than Gasoline With gasoline and diesel fuel prices continuing to rise at the retail pump, many consumers may be feeling they are taking a bath on fuel expenses. This feeling

The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 2 percent.

Members of the Rockefeller family, whose ancestor founded Exxon Mobil predecessor Standard Oil, are calling for the oil major to split the roles of chief executive and chairman, and to devote greater attention to new types of energy and environmental reforms.

Google added another feature, the Street View, to its Google Maps driving directions, allowing drivers to better understand the streets and intersections as they follow directions on the map.

Oil futures fell on Wednesday as the U.S. Energy Department reported today crude supplies rose more than expected.

The sole Canadian mobile phone service provider using the GSM standard, Rogers Communications, said on Tuesday that it will start offering iPhones to its subscribers later this year.

Tokyo shares closed lower Wednesday as weakness in commodity-sector shares and a selloff of real estate stocks stalled a two-day rally, despite continued strength in financial stocks and gains at Matsushita Electric Industrial.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates and its assessment of the state of the economy, while consumer-products giant Proctor & Gamble Co. and automaker General Motors Corp. reported better-than-anticipated results.

Citigroup said it sold $4.5 billion of common stock on Wednesday, more than it expected to sell, citing strong investor demand as it seeks to stabilize its finances.

United Online Inc, an internet service provider and parent of Classmates.com , announced plans on Wednesday to acquire FTD Group Inc, a provider of floral services and products, for about $800 million.

Jeffrey Bewkes, the chief executive of Time Warner Inc., announced plans on Wednesday to downsize what has for years been the world's largest media company by separating the cable-systems unit from the film and television businesses.

General Motors Corp., the world's biggest automaker, reported a net loss of $3.25 billion in the first quarter as its North American division continues to struggle. The results beat Wall Street expectations of a bigger loss, sending the company's stock up more than 8 percent in early trading.

China's A-share total net profit in 2007 reached 949.7 billion Yuan (135.7 US dollar), 49.86 percent higher than the prior year; the average earnings per share reached 0.42 Yuan, up 49.71 percent, according to the report of China Securities News Press on Tuesday.

Over 222 small and medium-sized public companies listed in China's Shenzhen Stock Exchange gained an average operating income by 308 million Yuan (44 US dollar) in the first quarter, up 35.32 percent than the same period of last year, Xinhua news agency reported on April 30.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HSI) Wednesday opened slightly higher by 84.12 points, or 0.32 percent, to reach 25998.27. The financial shares led the rise, such as the local banking stocks and Chinese-funded insurance stocks.

China should continue to prevent inflation and overheating of economic development in the second quarter, especially to control rising prices and curb inflation, the State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC) said Tuesday.

China's Hua Xia Bank, a business bank listed in Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2003, posted first quarter net profit of 822 million Yuan(117.4 million US dollars), 80.43 percent higher than the same period last year.