MARKETS / FINANCE

Google Inc said it planned to build a high-speed broadband network, as the top Internet search company continues to explore new business areas.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday detailed how the U.S. central bank will begin to wean the economy off its extraordinary stimulus, even as he stressed it was not yet time to do so.

Stocks were little changed on Wednesday, recovering from morning losses after a report suggested a European rescue plan for debt-burdened Greece may be presented this week.

European nations finally gave some public indications this week that they may orchestrate some sort of bailout for Greece as investors grow increasingly concerned.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc , which held down executive pay last year, has no magic formula for setting compensation in 2010, Chief Financial Officer David Viniar said on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama said he doesn't begrudge the chief executives of JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs their bonuses but called their pay extraordinary.

The Dow and the S&P 500 briefly turned positive on Wednesday as financial shares advanced, helping the broader market reverse steep losses seen earlier in the session.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as investors took a dim view of comments from the Federal Reserve chairman that although he still expects low interest rates for some time, the cheap funding that has underpinned a market rally since last March would end eventually.

After trading mostly flat in the first 30 minutes of trading, U.S. stocks fell as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke discussed his exit strategy. However, the stock market is still being cushioned by hopes of a Greece bailout.

Oil dipped below $73 in choppy trade on Wednesday after OPEC trimmed its 2010 global demand growth forecast and as the dollar strengthened against the euro.

President Barack Obama found common ground with Republicans on Tuesday over his top priorities of job creation and deficit reduction but drew a rebuke on healthcare reform.

Grumpy colleagues, slow computers and office jargon are the things that annoy workers most, according to a survey on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve could begin pulling back its unprecedented stimulus for the U.S. economy by first removing some cash from the financial system and then raising interest rates, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.

Stocks fell on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on how the central bank could exit extraordinary stimulus measures turned investors jittery about the economy's recovery.

Stocks turned lower on Wednesday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke outlined a path the Fed could take to begin pulling back its unprecedented stimulus for the U.S. economy when the time comes.

Wyndham Worldwide Corp , franchiser of Days Inn, Ramada and Super 8 hotels, posted better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday and said it was tripling its quarterly dividend.

The Federal Reserve could begin pulling back its unprecedented stimulus for the U.S. economy by first removing some cash from the financial system and then raising interest rates, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.

Stocks are nearly flat this morning as investors monitor the progress of a possible Greece bailout, digest a slew of economic data, and eye Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's written testimony at 10:00 am EST and the European Union Economic Summit on Thursday.

U.S. mortgage applications dipped last week, reflecting reduced demand for home purchase loans even as rates on 30-year loans fell to their lowest since December, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Stocks opened little changed on Wednesday with equity markets sensitive to comments from European officials about whether a rescue plan for heavily indebted Greece was in the works.

Euro zone countries held intensive talks on Wednesday on a possible rescue for Greece, whose debt crisis has shaken the entire currency union, as civil servants staged the first big strike against Athens' austerity plans.

UnitedHealth Group Inc said on Wednesday that its board had significantly increased the health insurer's stock buyback program.

Oil dipped below $74 in choppy trade on Wednesday after OPEC trimmed its 2010 global demand growth forecast.

Sprint Nextel Corp posted a narrower fourth-quarter loss on Wednesday, but revenue fell 7 percent even as the company's loss of bill-paying cellphone customers was slower than expected.

Wall Street was set for a flat open on Wednesday with equity markets sensitive to comments from European officials as to whether a rescue plan for heavily indebted Greece was in the works.

The U.S. trade deficit widened unexpectedly in December to $40.2 billion, fueled by the highest oil prices and oil imports since October 2008, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, taking a cue from gains in global markets, as the prospects of a rescue plan for heavily indebted Greece strengthened sentiment.

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, taking a cue from gains in global markets, as the prospects of a rescue plan for heavily indebted Greece strengthened sentiment.

Firming expectations of a Greek bailout lifted world stocks, the euro and commodity prices on Wednesday, and sent Greece's borrowing costs lower.