UNITED STATES

Dutch financial giant ING Groep N.V. (NYSE:ING) is selling off its stake in a landmark Polish shopping mall, the company announced Wednesday, in an effort to further minimize its exposure to the European real estate market.

The maker of the hit mobile game Angry Birds has struck a deal with Wal-Mart Stores Inc to embed clues to a new version of the game in merchandise sold in Walmart stores, hoping to lure Angry Birds fans through the doors and shoppers to the game.

In a sign that conservatives are coalescing behind Mitt Romney, the prominent Tea Party group FreedomWorks has dropped its opposition to the former Massachusetts governor.

It's almost unthinkable that the U.S. government will continue to sustain current levels of spending, and the reduction will lead to diminished profit margins of companies, asset manager James Montier of GMO writes.

A new video shows that Obama can understand some basic American Sign Language ... and there's evidence that he has even more secret language skills.

U.S. existing home sales fell to 4.59 million in February, 0.9 percent below upwardly revised sales figures in January, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Wednesday.

Breast cancer survivors who eat a healthy dose of omega-3 fats - found largely in oily fish like salmon, tuna and mackerel - may have some extra energy throughout their day, according to a U.S. study.

Gold traded broadly steady on Wednesday, as a boost from a modestly stronger euro against the dollar partly offset slow consumer demand and an erosion in holdings of the metal in exchange-traded products.

Cue the screams -- One Direction has just made Billboard history.

U.S. stocks were poised for a slightly higher open on Wednesday ahead of data on the housing market a day after the S&P 500 snapped a three-day winning streak.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (NYSE:RDS) signed Wednesday the first-ever production sharing contract with China's state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., or CNPC, as the world's second largest economy seeks to develop its untapped reserves, similar to those that gave rise to the U.S. natural gas boom, with the help of foreign technology.

Chevron, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, said Wednesday that oil from the latest leak in a Brazilian offshore field was not chemically related to oil from a November spill.

Three new studies published on Wednesday added to growing scientific evidence suggesting that taking a daily dose of aspirin can help prevent, and possibly treat, cancer.

Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo are set to be nominated to lead the World Bank, sources with knowledge of emerging market efforts to find candidates said on Tuesday.

Developing economies are going to nominate two candidates to become the next president of World Bank, according to a Reuters report.

General Mills Inc posted a quarterly profit in line with Wall Street expectations and stood by its lowered full-year forecast as it faces higher costs for raw materials.

Apple's new iPhone is very likely to have a number of key features that include a larger screen, a revamped design and the highly-anticipated 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology that will offer improved download speeds. But according to Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett, Sprint's scramble to deliver a 4G network could bring it to its knees once Apple unleashes its upcoming iPhone 5.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday ahead of data on the housing market a day after the S&P 500 snapped a three-day winning streak.

Asia shares continued to fall amid lingering worries about China growth. In Japan, shares declined for the first time in six sessions.

There is no party like an S Club party and reports are that the original members of S Club 7 have reunited for a possible two-album deal and summer tours. News of the reunion has Twitter fans excited, causing S Club 7 to trend worldwide.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.2 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures also up 0.2 percent at 5 a.m. E.D.T. (0900 GMT)