ECONOMY & MARKETS

General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS), the maker of Cheerios cereal and Pillsbury pastries, said Wednesday it will cut 850 jobs to cut costs in the face of rising food prices.

Sales of new single-family homes in the U.S. rose more than expected in April and prices climbed higher, signaling fresh signs of life in the distressed housing market.

European consumers are tightening the purse strings as their confidence in the region's economy continues to fade amid concern that the recession may worsen.

Investors on Wednesday eagerly snatched up a new two-year German bond with a zero-percent coupon, meaning investors were willing to pay to loan money to Europe's strongest economy when expected inflation is factored in. The yield ended at 0.07 percent.

Asian, European and U.S. stocks fell hard Wednesday on rising fears and uncertainty about a possible Greek exit from the euro zone as well as concerns over slowing economic growth.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued a contempt notice to the striking Air India pilots for not complying with its previous order restraining them from continuing with the strike.

Among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Wednesday are: Ares Capital Corp, Alcatel Lucent, FreightCar America, Jive Software, Dell Inc, Renren Inc, BlackRock, Alcoa and Facebook Inc.

The Swiss parliament debated Tuesday whether to create a gold-backed national coin to float in parallel with the Swiss franc, becoming the first national legislature in decades to consider issuing a currency based on a commodity.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a lower opening Wednesday ahead of new home sales data for April and a European Union summit.

Market sentiment continued to be negative as a report quoting former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos stated that Greece was considering preparations to leave the euro zone. Greece will hold fresh elections June 17.

Asian stock markets declined Wednesday as renewed concerns of Greece's probable exit from the euro zone dampened sentiment.

The U.S. economy will likely dip into another recession in the first half of 2013 if planned tax increases and spending cuts are allowed to go into effect in January, the Congressional Budget Office said.

Comments regarding a rebound in the Chinese economy from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development lifted stocks earlier Tuesday and kept Asian and European bourses in the green. The comments came after Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said last weekend his government would focus more on growth than inflation.

The G8 leaders also said that it is ?our imperative to promote growth and jobs?.

AAA projects 34.8 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the 2012 Memorial Day holiday weekend, but most are still concerned about their budget.

The UK government may have made illegal promises to General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) to shift production of the Astra compact car to its Opel/Astra plant in England from locations in Germany, reports said.

U.S. sales of previously owned homes rose 3.4 percent in April, reversing three months of declines and suggesting a stabilization of the housing market, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

U.S. home resales rose in April to their highest annual rate in nearly two years and a falloff in foreclosures pushed prices higher, hopeful signs for the country's economic recovery.

Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex fell Tuesday by more than 145 points, or 1 percent, as the rupee tumbled to a record low of 55.39 against the dollar.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a slightly lower opening Tuesday ahead of existing home sales data that are expected to show a rise in April sales.

Portuguese investment bank Espirito Santo has downgraded Indian bio-technology major Biocon from neutral to sell based on several issues, including accounting practices which the bank says are objectionable.

Asian markets rose Tuesday as China promised to spur growth and France and Germany agreed to prevent Greece from exiting the euro zone.

Asian stock markets advanced for the second day Tuesday as China's commitment to stimulate growth in the world's second largest economy and signs of cooperation between German and French leaders buoyed sentiment.

Japan's Nikkei share average rose in early trading Tuesday, continuing Monday's technical correction as investors picked up bargains after last week's flurry of aggressive selling, triggered by concern over a deepening euro crisis.

Industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp. (ETN) said Monday it would buy electrical equipment company Cooper Industries Plc for $11.8 billion to expand into the electric industry.

The strain in this relationship between Germany and France was apparent Monday as finance ministers from both countries failed to resolve the question whether the euro zone would benefit from issuing joint European bonds. Berlin rejects the idea, stipulating that struggling economies need to clean up their messes before being given a reason not to.

The WTTC argues that travel and tourism?s contribution to GDP is faster than most other sectors in the Americas and will grow by 3.6 percent over the next 10 years, a much faster rate than mining (1.5 percent), education (2 percent), chemicals (2.5 percent) and financial services (3.4 percent).

China can now bypass Wall Street when buying U.S. government debt and go straight to the U.S. Treasury, in what is the Treasury's first-ever direct relationship with a foreign government, according to documents viewed by Reuters.

Barclays PLC, the UK's second-largest bank by asset, said Monday it plans to sell its entire $6.1 billion stake in U.S. asset manager BlackRock Inc., as the tougher global regulatory environment has made such holding less attractive.