UNITED STATES

The dollar fell versus the euro on Wednesday after the previous day's quarter-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve disappointed investors hoping for more aggressive action to help the economy and credit markets.

Asian and European stocks tracked Wall Street lower and the dollar slipped on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut disappointed investors hoping for more aggressive action.

The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was an accident waiting to happen as a period of unprecedented global growth seduced investors into underpricing risk, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan argued in an article published by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks sank on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve trimmed interest rates rather than slashing them, letting down investors who fear the economy might slip into recession unless the central bank becomes more aggressive.

Wells Fargo & Co Chairman Dick Kovacevich is not against the No. 5 U.S. bank making a major acquisition, but he said on Tuesday the prospect of that happening is unlikely even as large rivals become vulnerable due to shaky subprime lending.

Wheat fell on Tuesday on speculation that high prices may limit demand.

The Yen rose against the dollar and euro on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, less than some had expected.

U.S. stocks dipped during Tuesday afternoon trading following the Federal Reserve's decision to cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 4.25 percent.

Gold prices rose on Tuesday as investors anticipate a third cut in U.S. interest cuts for the year at the Federal Reserve's meeting taking place today which will likely send the dollar lower and boost appeal in precious metals.

Ask.com, the search engine site, announced on Tuesday a new feature that allows users to completely erase their search queries in an attempt to increase personal privacy while surfing the Internet.

Housing and credit market turmoil will likely take a big toll on the U.S. even if it misses a recession, forecasts show.

H&R Block Inc, slammed over the past year by exposure to risky mortgages, on Tuesday reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss after shutting down its Option One Mortgage subprime lender, sending its shares down nearly 7 percent.

Sony Corp's consumer electronics business in the U.S. market has not been affected by the shaky economy and is on track to hit a 5 percent operating margin for the year ending March 31, Chief Executive Howard Stringer said.

Web search site Ask.com is launching a feature that allows users to delete data on their search queries in an effort to bolster personal privacy while surfing the Internet.

An Iranian exile group accused Tehran on Tuesday of pursuing efforts to develop nuclear weapons, dismissing as incomplete a U.S. intelligence report that Iran's nuclear arms program was frozen in 2003.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates on Tuesday by at least a quarter-percentage point to fortify the economy against a credit crunch and housing slump that some economists fear could bring a recession. Economic signs show the economy has not gone into a precipitous slide. Deteriorating financial markets, however, led the Fed to say it saw risks rising.

Top U.S. phone company AT&T Inc said on Monday it was buying core routers from Cisco Systems Inc to upgrade its Internet backbone network, a major win for Cisco amid competition from rival network equipment maker Juniper Networks Inc.

The ceiling on foreign investment in Chinese securities will be raised to $30 billion from $10 billion, Beijing's foreign exchange regulator said on Sunday ahead of cabinet-level talks with the United States.

Eisai Co Ltd said on Monday it would buy U.S. biotech firm MGI Pharma Inc for $3.9 billion cash to strengthen its cancer treatment pipeline, marking the largest overseas acquisition by a Japanese drug maker.

World stock markets are in for their most modest annual gains for years in 2008 thanks to the global credit crunch and an evolving economic slowdown, Reuters polls showed on Monday.

Global stocks erased early losses on Monday, dollar money market tensions eased and the U.S. currency held near one-month highs against the yen ahead of an expected Federal Reserve interest rate cut this week.