IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks fluctuated sharply on Wednesday, first falling on reports of declining home sales and losses related to credit problems at Merrill Lynch but rising amid speculation that the Federal Reserve could lower interest rates.

The U.S. dollar continued to fall against the yen on Wednesday amid speculation that a struggling housing market will continue to have a negative impact on the U.S. economy, adding to the view that money policy makers will make another interest rate cut next week

Dying winds gave California firefighters their first big break on Wednesday after four days battling wildfires, but San Diego faced more calamity as blazes there burned out of control and kept more than half a million evacuees from returning home.

Stocks recovered from deep losses on Wednesday, amid talk that the Federal Reserve would act to cut the discount rate, the same day that Merrill Lynch rattled markets with its first loss in nearly six years.

U.S. treasuries posted strong gains on Wednesday amid speculation that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates following bad news about dropping home sales and a troubling earnings report from U.S. brokerage, Merrill Lynch, which reported a bigger than expected loss.

The German telecommunications supplier Ericsson has announced its participation in the Millennium village project to provide connectivity in Africa especially in rural areas.

Cisco systems announced that it will purchase wireless networking startup Navini Networks for $330 million on Wednesday, in a cash and stock deal expected to be completed in 2008.

Today BP announced plans for changes to its North Sea organisation meant to secure a long-term future for the company’s oil and gas business in the UK.

China launched its first lunar probe, the Chang'e I, on Wednesday, named after an ancient Chinese mythology figure.

Studying abroad has been accepted by more and more Chinese students and parents according to a new study.

The United States has entered a recession, according to highly-regarded investor Jim Rogers, who told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper on Wednesday he was switching out of the dollar and into yen, the yuan and the Swiss franc.

China’s second largest beer maker has agreed to invest 40 billion yuan ($5.3 million) to establish its first overseas plant in Thailand.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) in Japan announced on Wednesday that Japanese exports to the U.S. dropped 9.2 percent to 1.42 trillion yen in September, showing the first decline in five months.

The housing market took a sharp turn for the worse in September as prices tumbled and sales of previously owned homes fell to a record low, battered by rising foreclosures and tighter lending standards. Sales of existing homes dropped 8 percent to a 5.04 million unit annual pace in September, the lowest on record dating to 1999.

London is the most attractive property investment market for the second consecutive year on an index of European cities.

Stocks tumbled on Wednesday as a steep quarterly loss at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. and executives' warnings about possible future problems deepened investors' concern about the credit crisis.

The world's biggest jumbo jet was set to fly from Singapore on Thursday on its long-delayed first-ever commercial flight, as part of the Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) daily service to Sydney.

Shareholders of Cablevision Systems Corp on Wednesday rejected a $10.6 billion buyout bid offered by the Dolan family, after major stakeowners said it undervalued the New York-based cable operator. The Dolans, who already own about 20 percent of Cablevision, offered $36.26 per share -- a price that several large shareholders, including activist investor Mario Gabelli, have said was too low.

Europe's banks are considering their next move after ABN AMRO succumbed to the world's biggest bank takeover.

Australia slapped financial sanctions on Myanmar's generals and their families on Wednesday as supporters of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 12 years in captivity with protests in 12 cities across the world.

Safe-haven assets eased from Wednesday's highs while stocks fell after U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch posted heavy losses, which were less dire than some predictions but did not dispel investor unease over the impact of the credit crisis.

Honda Motor Co will start to sell hybrid cars in big volumes beyond 2010, a top executive said on Wednesday, while repeating the automaker's target for sales of 4.5 million cars in 2009/10.

Daiwa Securities Group, Japan's No. 2 brokerage, is set to post sluggish results for the July-September quarter as volatile financial markets hit trading profits and the flow of equity deals dried up.

South Korean flat-screen maker LG.Philips LCD is in talks with several major TV makers about taking a stake in the firm and does not rule out Japanese companies, a company executive said on Wednesday.

Yahoo Inc expects to announce a series of partnerships with mobile carriers in Asia in coming weeks, as it looks to its mobile services division for growth.

Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Renault and Nissan Motor Co, said on Wednesday he was confident of being able to develop a $3,000 car in India with proposed partner Bajaj Auto Ltd.

Nissan Motor Co on Wednesday took the wraps off its GT-R sports car, a cult classic in Japan that it has remodelled in the hope that a muscle car will rebuild its flagging sales around the world.

A non-profit group developing a low-cost laptop for poor children said that a production delay would cause a shortage of computers available in the United States and Canada as part of a holiday giving program.

A deal between Facebook and either Google Inc or Microsoft Corp is expected to be announced in the next 24 to 48 hours, The New York Post reported on its Web site on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.