Wall St was set for a lower open on Thursday after rating agencies said they may downgrade Greece's sovereign debt, reigniting worries over possible defaults in the euro zone, and an increase in jobless claims fueled concerns about the U.S. economy.
Optimism over Fed Chairman Bernanke's comments on Wednesday faded as global markets sputtered over unsettled Greece woes.
World number two truck maker Volvo said on Wednesday deliveries of its trucks fell 8 percent year-on-year in January as weak demand continued to plague its main European market.
Four days of blizzards dumped 67 cm (26 inches) across the Russian capital by Tuesday, breaking the Feb record of 64 cm experienced at the height of the Cold War 44 years ago, and much more is expected this week, the Moscow weather bureau said.
Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2 to 0.3 percent, pointing to a weaker start for equities on Wall Street on Wednesday.
Asia shares fell on Wednesday as surprise declines in U.S. consumer confidence and German business sentiment fueled fears about the strength of the global economic recovery and boosted the safe-haven yen.
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as consumer sentiment dropped sharply and house prices unexpectedly dipped, denting optimism about a economic recovery.
U.S. stock index futures dropped on Tuesday as a key index of German business sentiment fell unexpectedly, denting confidence in a global economic recovery and weighing on European shares.
Dell Inc's quarterly gross margin missed Wall Street expectations, hurt by sales of lower-priced personal computers for consumers and a rise in costs for memory chips and other components.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc said sales at its existing U.S. stores fell during the holiday quarter and forecast results for the current quarter that could miss Wall Street estimates.
Societe Generale expects results to recover in 2010 with lower bad risk write-downs after it rattled markets last month with a toxic asset warning.
Genzyme Corp said on Wednesday it is on the way to resolving a manufacturing crisis that led to shortages of two key drugs, but said production of one of them remains below par and the company's shares fell more than 1 percent.
Housing starts rebounded more strongly than expected to their highest level in six months in January, while permits fell slightly less than forecast, a government report showed on Wednesday.
Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain said it would pocket around half of the proceeds from its planned $10.7 billion sale of African assets to Bharti Airtel and use the rest to pay off debt, sending its shares soaring.
As global investors are still grappling with the Greece bailout situation, China surprised the world with yet another bank reserve ratio hike.
Wall Street was poised to open lower on Friday after China surprised global markets by increasing banks' reserve requirements, raising worries about the impact of eventual monetary tightening on global growth.
Stock index futures fell on Friday after China surprised global markets by increasing banks' reserve requirements, raising worries about the impact of eventual monetary tightening on global growth.
The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for jobless benefits tumbled last week, a government report showed on Thursday, reversing a recent spike that had raised concerns about renewed labor market weakness.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday that the expected cost of U.S. financial bailout has fallen by more than $400 billion in the last year.
Sprint Nextel Corp's fourth-quarter revenue fell 7 percent and missed Wall Street expectations as the No. 3 U.S. mobile service charged consumers less for phone calls to help curb subscriber losses.
The New York Times Co warned on Wednesday that print newspaper advertising will continue to decline, sending shares down nearly 9 percent, even as the company slashed costs to reach a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.
U.S. wholesale inventories unexpectedly fell 0.8 percent in December, while sales rose 0.8 percent, a government report showed on Tuesday.
