IBT Staff Reporter

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor's 500 indexes fell on Wednesday after setting new highs a day earlier as the latest earnings report season kicked off with lower profit expectations and news from blue-chip companies raising concern among investors.

Platinum rose, matching a record, after the dollar declined for a second day against the euro, enhancing the appeal of the metal as an alternative investment. Palladium also gained.

Wheat rose for the first time on Wednesday after prices dropped from a record high last month.

Gold finished about $2 higher on Wednesday as a decline in the value of the dollar boosted the appeal of the precious metals as alternative investments.

Oil prices jumped on Wednesday as expectations for tighter fuel inventories surfaced as the Norther Hemisphere moves into the winter season.

Teens say they are spending about the same amount of their money on clothes and accessories this fall as they did last year, but their parents are cutting back on what they buy for them, a survey said on Wednesday.

The dollar fell on Wednesday as concern crept back into the market that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates again this year to prevent a weak housing sector from damaging the broader economy.

World stocks stretched to record highs on Wednesday, led by emerging markets, while the dollar slipped on reduced hopes of a new U.S. interest rate cut.

Boeing Co on Wednesday pushed back first deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner by at least six months as it struggles to assemble the new lightweight, carbon-composite plane. The delay is an embarrassing setback for Boeing, which has for months insisted it would meet its delivery timetable, and mirrors delays suffered by rival Airbus on its A380 superjumbo.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick on Wednesday unveiled a new strategy that will focus the poverty-fighting institution's efforts on ensuring the world's poor also benefit from increased globalization.

The United States urged Brazil on Wednesday to use its influence with developing nations to ensure that the long-running Doha round of global trade talks do not end in a stalemate.

India's diversified Mahindra Group is entering the retail sector, the latest deep-pocketed, family-run Indian company to jump into the fast-growing market.

Finnish crane maker Konecranes will capture 50 to 55 percent of its global sales in Asia in three to four years, up from 30 percent now, helped by robust demand in China, a senior executive said on Wednesday.

Philips Electronics is selling about $2.2 billion worth of shares in flat screen maker LG Philips LCD Co Ltd, reducing its stake to about 20 percent, a term sheet said on Wednesday.

Antitrust experts predict that Google Inc's purchase of advertising company DoubleClick for $3.1 billion will be approved by U.S. regulators despite vehement opposition from competitors Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc.

The credit crunch that has troubled financial markets in recent months will eventually take its toll on the U.S. economy, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday.

While profit margins have been squeezed in every corner of the financial services industry, private banking services for the world's ultra-rich remain a reliably lucrative business.

Spain's largest bank Santander is close to sealing a deal to sell its property holdings for a total of about 4 billion euros ($5.65 billion), banking sources said on Wednesday, confirming newspaper reports.

Three banks led by Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland clinched victory in the battle for ABN AMRO on Wednesday, declaring their 70 billion euro ($99 billion) offer for the Netherland's biggest bank unconditional.

Shares in Northern Rock rose more than 40 percent on Wednesday, as funds built stakes in the stricken mortgage lender, encouraged by new government guarantees that have boosted hopes of a rescue package.

The overnight success of Pixar seemed easy, but a new documentary about the cartoon studio shows it was a risky business venture.

Workers represented by the United Auto Workers union walked out on strike on two plants operated by Chrysler LLC, while another of the automaker's key assembly plants was told to remain on hold.

Stocks fell on Wednesday as investors worried about the outlook for profits after Alcoa Inc's earnings missed estimates and Chevron Corp joined companies issuing profit warnings.

South Korean display screen maker Samsung SDI Co said on Wednesday it started mass producing ultra thin flat screens and would double capacity by next year, sending its shares surging 14 percent.

Internet censors in China are becoming more systematic and sophisticated in how they monitor the Web and eradicate content deemed sensitive, according to a Chinese technician working for an Internet firm.

Oil held near $80 a barrel on Wednesday, with the market underpinned by expectations of tighter fuel inventories ahead of winter.

IBM and Linden Labs, the operator of the Second Life virtual world, said on Tuesday they will work on ways to eventually let people use a single online persona in different online services.

Nintendo Co Ltd said on Wednesday it would start selling its Wii Fit home fitness game in Japan in time for the critical year-end shopping season, sending its shares to a record high.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog's head is in India as a debate rages over the country's nuclear deal with the United States.