UNITED STATES

Shares in Malaysian state-controlled carmaker Proton sank to a near seven-year-low on Wednesday, a day after the government ended talks with Germany's Volkswagen over a possible alliance.

Shares of Freddie Mac fell as much as 9.5 percent on Wednesday after analysts slashed their price targets on the stock, saying an unexpectedly wide third-quarter loss may make it tough for the No. 2 U.S. home funding company to inject the liquidity needed to rescue an ailing housing market.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, Japan's largest bank, posted a 49 percent drop in first-half profit on Wednesday, hit by subprime-related investments and hefty losses at its credit card unit.

Mary-Kate Olsen, one-half of the acting Olsen twins who gained fame on 1990s television show Full House, has been hospitalized in New York City for a kidney infection, her representative said on Tuesday.

GM's electric car will launch by 2010 despite internal skeptics and worriers, a company chief says

The dollar hit a record low against the euro and a basket of major currencies on Wednesday and the yen rose sharply as concerns on the health of the U.S. economy and global credit markets saw investors flea risky carry trades.

The Internet has become a key teaching tool for Islamist militants who are using it to educate recruits in cyber training camps, crime and security experts said on Wednesday.

Hewlett-Packard Co's better-than-expected quarterly results may raise the bar for competitor Dell Inc , which is more vulnerable to U.S. economic woes and reports earnings next week.

Israeli authorities plan to issue a new anti-hijack identification system to incoming aircraft which they say is foolproof, but some experts are not convinced it will plug all the security holes on the horizon.

India and the International Atomic Energy Agency agreed on Wednesday to start negotiations on putting Indian reactors under IAEA safeguards, clearing a key hurdle to closing a U.S.-Indian nuclear supply pact.

Asset manager BlackRock is set to be signed up as the manager of a $75 billion fund being put together by U.S. banks to help struggling structured investment vehicles (SIVs), the Financial Times said, without citing the source of the information.

Stocks slid on Wednesday as fears of more credit losses and mortgage defaults sunk shares of financial services companies, while worries about the impact of near record crude oil prices hit retailers and shares of big manufacturers.

Dubai raised almost $5 billion selling a stake in port operator DP World in the Middle East's largest IPO, setting the scene for perhaps the biggest test for the emirate's two-year-old bourse where the shares will trade.

World stocks and the dollar tumbled on Wednesday while the yen and government bonds soared as concerns for the health of the U.S. economy stirred the biggest wave of risk aversion since August in global financial markets.

Gold briefly traded over $800 an ounce on Wednesday, bringing recent 28-year highs back into view as oil topped $99 per barrel and the dollar plumbed record lows against the euro.

U.S. oil surged to a nominal all-time high of $99.29 a barrel on November 21, boosting the annual average price to $69.97.

Chrysler LLC's recent decision to cut up to 10,000 factory jobs and slash production in North America tested the credibility of the automaker's new private equity owner, the head of the Canadian Auto Workers said on Tuesday.

Oil held above $98 a barrel on Wednesday, after closing in on the $100 milestone as the dollar hit new lows and cold weather in the United States, the world's biggest fuel consumer, stirred anxiety over winter supplies.

A growing number of consumers say they plan to spend less on gifts this holiday season than last year, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll, the latest sign of a potentially bleak Christmas for retailers. A total of 38.8 percent of those surveyed said they would spend a little less or a lot less this year, up from 31.1 percent a month ago, according to the poll.

Credit market trouble struck again on Tuesday as Freddie Mac, the second largest U.S. mortgage finance company reported a big loss of more than $2 billion for its latest quarter, prompting the firm to say that it may cut its dividend investors.

Concerns of a relapse in financial conditions trumped hawkish rhetoric from the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's October rate meeting, keeping market expectations for a near-term interest-rate cut intact. Minutes from the October 30-31 Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed the Fed's decision to cut benchmark rates last month was a close call and an insurance policy against the risk the economy would weaken even more than officials expect.