IBT Staff Reporter

Automakers ended the year with strong U.S. sales but forecast lower growth in 2012, as a sluggish economic recovery is expected to continue.

MF Global unloaded hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of securities to Goldman Sachs in the days leading up to its collapse, according to two former MF Global employees with direct knowledge of the transactions. But it did not immediately receive payment from its clearing firm and lender, JPMorgan Chase & Co , one of the sources said.

Stocks fell on Wednesday after a sharp rally in the previous session as investors set their sights again on Europe's debt problems.

Euro zone inflation dropped below 3 percent for the first time in three months in December, kicking off a slowdown economists expect will revive deflation fears and tempt the ECB to cut rates below 1 percent for the first time in its history.

Yahoo Inc. said on Wednesday it has appointed Scott Thompson as its chief executive, effective from January 9, replacing interim CEO Tim Morse who will resume his role as chief financial officer.

Swiss central bank head Philipp Hildebrand came under pressure on Wednesday following revelations of sensitively timed currency trades by his wife and the sacking of a whistleblower who passed details to the lawyer of a political adversary.

U.S. oil group ExxonMobil is in talks to sell most of its 50 percent stake in Japanese refiner TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK <5012.T>, in a deal that could be worth as much as $5 billion, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Yahoo is poised to name PayPal President Scott Thompson as its chief executive after firing former CEO Carol Bartz in September, website AllThingsD reported, citing sources close to the situation.

The German and French governments have both come to accept that the era when leading euro zone countries enjoyed the very best sovereign debt ratings is nearing an end, but a downgrade could shake Paris far harder than it does Berlin.

Wall Street was set to open lower on Wednesday after a sharp market rally in the previous session, as investors focused again on Europe's debt problems.

Chrysler reported a 37 percent rise in U.S. new-vehicle sales in December as the U.S. automaker finished the year with strong gains thanks to a refreshed lineup of cars and trucks.

The Federal Reserve, in a move that could push back expectations of when near-zero U.S. interest rates will rise, will begin publishing its policymakers' forecasts for borrowing costs.

Stock index futures fell on Wednesday after a sharp market rally in the previous session, as investors focused again on Europe's debt problems.

The PIMCO Total Return Fund, the world's largest bond fund, had $1.4 billion in outflows in December, according to fund analytics firm Morningstar.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday after a sharp market rally in the previous session, as investors focused again on Europe's debt problems.

Exxon Mobil is in talks to sell most of its 50 percent stake in TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK <5012.T> back to its Japanese refining partner and unload other assets in Japan in a deal that could be worth as much as $5 billion, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Euro zone inflation eased from last year's peaks of 3.0 percent in December, the first sign of a fall in price growth this year that analysts expect will create room for more interest rate cuts to help the weakening economy.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday after a sharp market rally in the previous session, as investors focused again on Europe's debt problems.

Demand for loans to buy homes and refinance mortgages slid in the final week of 2011, even as mortgage rates dipped, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Stock index futures fell on Wednesday after a sharp market rally in the previous session, as investors focused again on Europe's debt problems.

Eurozone inflation slowed in December as expected, data showed on Wednesday, underlining market expectations that price growth will decelerate further in the first months of 2012 and create room for more interest rate cuts to help the weakening economy.

Yahoo is poised to name PayPal President Scott Thompson as chief executive after firing former CEO Carol Bartz in September, Web site AllThingsD reported, citing sources close to the situation.

Nerves ahead of a German debt auction helped put European stock markets in negative territory early on Wednesday and halted a surge for the euro after its biggest one-day gain in nearly two months.

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as investor risk appetite returned after upbeat U.S. and European economic data improved the global growth outlook, but the euro's gains were short-lived due to deep-set worries over the European debt crisis.

Rick Perry will return to Texas to reassess his campaign in light of a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, he announced near midnight on Tuesday.

Small businesses created 55,000 jobs in December and increased working hours for employees, further evidence the labor market was strengthening.

An Ecuadorean appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that Chevron Corp should pay $18 billion in damages to plaintiffs who accused the U.S. oil giant of polluting the Amazon jungle and damaging their health.

Samsung Electronics, the world's top maker of memory chips and smartphones, is set to report a robust quarterly profit rise on Friday, starting 2012 on an upbeat note aided by record-smashing sales of smartphones.

Twitter, the popular microblogging site, apologized on Tuesday for incorrectly verifying a false account for Wendi Deng, the wife of News Corp Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch.