Fed's Hoenig: too soon to pull support as U.S. recovers

A Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday that while the U.S. economy is clearly rebounding, it is too soon to begin to withdraw the Federal Reserve's massive support. Read Full Article here.

Costco, Family Dollar beat Street

Family Dollar Stores Inc and Costco Wholesale Corp both reported better-than-expected quarterly profits on Wednesday and said sales improved in September from preceding months, boosting investor confidence in the discount retail sector. Read Full Article here.

U.S. mortgage applications at 4-month high

U.S. mortgage applications surged last week to their highest since mid-May as consumers sought to take advantage of the lowest interest rates in months, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday. Read Full Article here.

Stiglitz Questions if EU Stress Test Trustworthy

Economist Joseph Stiglitz on Tuesday questioned the trustworthiness of a key European Union government test to measure the health of the banking industry. Read Full Article here.

Microsoft's Ballmer sees Windows 7 effect on PC market muted

Microsoft's release of its new Windows 7 operating system is expected to increase demand for personal computers only slightly, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told journalists in Munich on Wednesday. Read Full Article here.

Ciena to buy Nortel's ethernet assets

Canada's Nortel Networks said on Wednesday it plans to sell its optical networking and carrier ethernet businesses to U.S.-based Ciena in a stalking horse agreement worth $521 million. Read Full Article here.

EU to market test Microsoft remedies on browsers

The European Commission said on Wednesday it would seek comments from consumers, software makers and computer manufacturers on remedies offered by Microsoft to tackle competition concerns over the company's browser. Read Full Article here.