UNITED STATES

Fiat SpA closed its acquisition of Chrysler's strongest assets on Wednesday, a key step in the Italian carmaker's ambitious plan to create a global player to ride out the worldwide auto sales downturn.

Investors sent a clear signal to the U.S. government on Wednesday. Pay up.

Miss California, Carrie Prejean, has officially lost her crown after the beauty queen continued to breach her contract agreement.

Controversial pageant queen Carrie Prejean is being stripped of her California 2009 title, not because of her racy photos or personal beliefs, but due to breach of contract, according to a statement from the Miss California USA organization.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday on worries that rising interest rates could put a damper on consumer and business spending, but stocks pared losses late in the session to finish off the day's lows.

U.S. economic conditions were weak or got worse through May, but some areas of the country saw signs the contraction was moderating, a Federal Reserve report said on Wednesday.

The Obama administration on Wednesday named Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer who oversaw the government's compensation fund for victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks, as its pay czar to police compensation of top earners at companies receiving exceptional government aid.

The World Health Organization has called an emergency meeting of experts on Thursday to discuss the spreading H1N1 flu outbreak, in a sign the U.N. agency may be poised to declare a pandemic.

A Royal Dutch Shell Plc gas station in Canada became the first in the world on Wednesday to fill tanks with gasoline containing biofuel made from wheat straw, Shell said.

Shooting at the Holocaust museum in Washington DC on Wednesday afternoon has left two wounded leading to the closure of the museum and nearby roads.

Oil prices surged to a seven-month high near $72 a barrel on Wednesday after a U.S. government report showed a slowdown in crude imports eating away at inventories in the world's top energy user.

Stocks fell on Wednesday on worry that rising interest rates could put a damper on consumer and business spending.

Stocks fell on Wednesday on worry that rising interest rates could put a damper on consumer and business spending.

A U.S. money manager who ran a financial planning firm has been arrested on charges of defrauding clients of more than $6 million by stealing from their accounts, authorities said on Wednesday.

Shares of U.S. auto suppliers rose sharply on Wednesday as news that Italian automaker Fiat SpA had completed the purchase of Chrysler LLC's strongest assets erased fears that the U.S. car maker could face liquidation if the deal did not go through.

The global economic slowdown has claimed another victim: energy use. Consumption of primary energy around the world last year grew by the smallest amount since 2001 while the U.S. saw its steepest drop in 27 years, according to a report released Wednesday by British oil giant BP.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday the Obama administration wants Congress to pass new laws giving securities regulators power to force companies to let shareholders have more say in setting executive pay levels.

Home Depot Inc raised its 2009 profit forecast as the biggest home-improvement chain said Wednesday it sees better margins this year through improved efficiencies.

As the financial crisis continues to dampen the global economy, a popular online microlender to third world countries, Kiva.org, has now begun to offer loans to low-income entrepreneurs in the U.S.

Stocks fell on Wednesday, dragged down by consumer, technology and industrial issues, after oil surged to a 7-month high, triggering worries it may curtail spending.

A former U.S. State Department official and his wife, accused of spying for the Cuban government for nearly 30 years, were ordered Wednesday to be kept in jail until their trial.