BUSINESS

Stocks were little changed on Wednesday as an encouraging U.S. housing report offset soft euro zone data, while the S&P 500 struggled to break through a high not seen since last May.

Fitch cut Greece's long-term ratings on Wednesday to its lowest rating above a default, becoming the first ratings agency to make the widely expected downgrade after the country announced a bond exchange plan to ease its massive debt burden.

Nearly 12 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2011, an increase of 13 percent over 2010, according to a report released on Wednesday by the research firm Javelin Strategy & Research.

France Telecom is cutting its dividend and putting off a promised share buyback to conserve cash in the face of brutal competition from a new mobile player and Europe's ongoing debt crisis.

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Wednesday, putting the S&P 500's three-day winning streak in jeopardy after weaker-than-expected euro zone economic data.

Wall Street stocks were poised for a modestly lower open on Wednesday, putting the three-day winning streak for the S&P 500 in jeopardy after weaker-than-expected euro zone economic data and ahead of a report on the U.S. housing market.

The euro zone economy is in danger of tipping into recession, with the services sector shrinking this month along with manufacturing, tempering a wave of optimism after a new bailout deal for Greece struck this week.

Applications for U.S. home mortgages tumbled last week as demand for loan refinancing sagged, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Greek unions, the unemployed and communists will protest on Wednesday against spending cuts introduced to secure a multi-billion-euro bailout, and lawmakers will debate a debt swap to avoid imminent bankruptcy.

British chipmaker CSR Plc underscored its financial strength on Monday with a share buyback of up to $50 million, helping send its shares up more than 20 percent to their highest in six months.

Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook is in an enviable position - market leading products, a $98 billion warchest and a seemingly gravity-defying stock price.

U.S. stock index futures slipped on Wednesday, indicating the S&P 500 may snap a three-day winning streak after weaker-than-expected euro zone economic data and ahead of a report on the U.S. housing market.

U.S. stock index futures slipped on Wednesday, indicating the S&P 500 may snap a three-day winning streak after weaker-than-expected euro zone data and ahead of a report on the U.S. housing market.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed opening for Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.1 percent, the Dow Jones futures flat and the Nasdaq 100 rising 0.1 percent.

Olympus Corp's main lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp denied it was trying to take control of the firm's board by stealth, but said it might well agree to send a former banker to be chairman of the disgraced camera and medical device maker.

Europe's debt crisis will dominate talks between Group of 20 (G20) policymakers this weekend as the rest of the world looks for pledges that the euro zone will boost its crisis safety net.

A government watchdog on Wednesday said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator needs to curtail the rising cost of their legal expenses since there is no end in sight to the widening taxpayer tab keeping the two firms afloat.

An Olympus Corp executive found dead in India in an apparent suicide is likely to have had no link to the Japanese endoscope maker's accounting scandal, a company spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

From undercover interns to hastily arranged meetings with heads of state, Steve Wynn's lawsuit against former friend and partner Kazuo Okada seeks to paint a picture of a rogue board member pursuing his own private agenda.

Bank of America's Merrill Lynch has launched a more aggressive recruiting campaign for top-tier brokers, including a bonus paid for transferring client assets after six months at the firm, two sources familiar with the new plan said Tuesday.

LightSquared Inc., the wireless company backed by hedge fund manager Philip Falcone, said on Tuesday it plans to lay off nearly half of its employees to save money.

LightSquared, the ailing wireless company backed by hedge fund manager Philip Falcone, said on Tuesday that it plans to cut its workforce by 45 percent in order to save cash.

With the tax man breathing down his neck, Ohio farmer Tony Rohrs is scrambling to figure out how much money he made last year in an account at MF Global.

Big energy companies like Royal Dutch Shell and commodity merchants like Cargill have a simple argument in pushing back against looming new swap market rules: We're not a bank, so don't regulate us like one.

Stocks ended little changed on Tuesday, paring gains after the Dow topped 13,000 for the first time since May 2008, and as higher oil prices damped prospects for the economy.

Agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland Co on Tuesday said it will eliminate 20 percent more jobs than previously expected to reduce costs.

Wynn Resorts Ltd plans to give evidence to U.S. authorities that it claims shows that its board member Kazuo Okada bribed foreign gaming regulators and may have violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, board member Robert Miller told analysts on Tuesday.

Stocks dipped on Tuesday as shares pulled back after the Dow breached 13,000 for the first time since May 2008, the latest big move in stocks' recent rally.

The regulator of housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Tuesday outlined a new strategic plan for the two government-controlled firms, stepping into a void left by congressional inaction.