NYSE

Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL), the No. 1 database company, said it would acquire private cloud media marketer Vitrue for an undisclosed sum a day after German rival SAP (NYSE: SA), Europe's No. 1 software company, offered to acquire e-commerce specialist Ariba Inc. (Nasdaq: ARBA) for $4.3 billion.

U.S. auto sales will likely reach a 14.2 million seasonally adjusted annual sales rate in May 2012, the greatest year-over-year gain in more than 12 months, as consumers take advantage of credit and low interest rates to replace aging cars. Moreover, increasing car sales are now a primary driver of U.S. GDP growth, according to a Wednesday report by Kelley Blue Book.

Because they report quarterly results generally out of the regula,r pattern technology giants Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSC), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) and Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) are technology bellwethers. Do their dismal dismal forecast presage downturn?

Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M), the owner of its namesake and Bloomingdale's department stores, said Wednesday it will start selling some of the department store chain's private label merchandise directly to consumers in China next spring through a deal with a Chinese online retailer.

The recent multibillion-dollar trading loss suffered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), the country's largest bank by assets, has strengthened the case against letting bank executives serve as directors of Federal Reserve regional banks and thus regulating themselves, policy makers say.

General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS), the maker of Cheerios cereal and Pillsbury pastries, said Wednesday it will cut 850 jobs to cut costs in the face of rising food prices.

Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), the No. 1 computer maker, fell as much as 5.6 percent Wednesday, ahead of its expected announcement of second-quarter results.

Shares of DELL (Nasdaq: DELL), the No. 3 PC maker, plunged as much as 15 percent after the company reported first-quarter results that trailed analyst estimates for both income and revenue and issued a poor forecast.

Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social network, rose nearly 5 percent Wednesday despite continuing fallout from its May 17 initial public offering.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) shares climbed almost 2 percent in mid-day trading Wednesday, a day after Moody's Investors Service upgraded the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker's credit rating to investment grade.

SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) has agreed Tuesday to buy Internet commerce company Ariba Inc. (Nasdaq: ARBA) for $4.3 billion, as the German business software giant looks to expand its cloud-based services and challenge rival Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCL).

NATO signed a $1.7 billion contract with U.S.-based defense contractor Northrup Grumman Sunday for five unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, that will be used by allied countries for a new ground-surveillance system.

Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL) reported first-quarter results that trailed analyst estimates for both income and revenue and issued a poor forecast for the current quarter

Shares of Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), the No. 3 PC maker, rose nearly 2 percent Tuesday, in advance of the company?s report of first-quarter results.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), the No. 2 computer maker, said it opened a new center in Da Nang, Vietnam, its third center in the Southeast Asian country.

The UK government may have made illegal promises to General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) to shift production of the Astra compact car to its Opel/Astra plant in England from locations in Germany, reports said.

Formula 1, the popular global auto racing sport, is on its way to a possible IPO as financial investors such as Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. (NYSE: WDR), Norges Bank Investment Management and BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) bought 21 percent of the company, CVC Capital Partners, owner of Formula 1, confirmed Tuesday.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) reported a 26 percent drop in its fiscal first-quarter profit due largely to higher restructuring costs compared to last year, but the earnings topped Wall Street's expectations.

As U.S. entertainment companies look for new opportunities in light of a stagnant home market, new partnerships with China are emerging, but the process of linking media worlds between the two countries is also a two-way street.

French hotel giant Accor SA (Paris: AC) said Tuesday it will sell the underperforming Motel 6 U.S. budget hotel chain to asset manager Blackstone Group LP for $1.9 billion, as part of an effort to cut debt and shift focus from the U.S. to fast-growing emerging markets.

Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social network, kept falling Tuesday, three business days after its $16,7 billion initial public offering.