IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks were little changed on Wednesday as European finance ministers appeared ready to prop up struggling banks while reports on the U.S. labor market and services sector came in stronger than expected.

Moody's lowered its rating on Italy's bonds by three notches on Tuesday, saying it saw a material increase in funding risks for euro zone countries with high levels of debt and warning that further downgrades were possible.

How a host of divisions caused a seemingly unending string of setbacks to a deal for a new Greek bailout. First of three parts.

Hewlett-Packard Co could face a troubled turnaround, with tough challenges that could result in underwhelming revenue and earnings growth, JP Morgan said, resuming coverage of the Silicon Valley company with an underweight rating.

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has used the medium of Twitter to deny reports claiming he had asked for the captain's armband while also laughing off links to Barcelona.

Nexus Prime, an upcoming Android smartphone from Samsung, is ready to take the smartphone throne from iPhone 5 way ahead of the Apple device's launch, with a stunning curved design just as many expected in the fifth generation iPhone.

If you haven't already heard, the official word is in. Apple will not be releasing the next generation iPhone 5 this year. Instead, the company has made some major upgrade and changes to the iPhone 4 and is calling the new iPhone, iPhone 4S. Appearance-wise, the new 4S is identical to its predecessor. On the inside, it's a complete upgrade with new features, apps, and capabilities.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his government has scored initial success in taming inflation, and told banks to lend more to small firms and tolerate high levels of bad debt from them, official media reported on Wednesday.

Nexus Prime, an upcoming Android smartphone from Samsung, is ready to take the smartphone throne from iPhone 5 way ahead of the Apple device's launch, with a stunning curved design just as many expected in the fifth generation iPhone.

A sharp rise in China's yuan currency might cut the U.S. trade deficit by as much as one third and create enough American jobs to put at least a modest dent in the unemployment rate.

Inspectors from the IMF, EU and the European Central Bank are likely to recommend releasing a vital tranche of aid to Greece but Athens must first do more to convince them it can implement reforms, a senior official from the troika said on Wednesday.

India launched what it dubbed the world's cheapest tablet computer Wednesday, to be sold to students at the subsidized price of $35 and later in shops for about $60.

Upon the upcoming release of her lavish wedding on E!, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries shared their first interview together. Just finished my 1st interview ever with my hubby @KrisHumphries on Jay Leno! Kardashian tweeted.

Private sector business activity shrank in the euro zone for the first time in two years last month as new orders dried up, stoking fears that the economy could be heading back into recession, surveys showed on Wednesday.

Like Christmas day, the Let's Talk iPhone event has come and gone, leaving behind a sense of Boxing Day-esque anticlimax. Paul Schiller's 10:55 reveal that the new iPhone would not be a 5 but a 4S model was greeted with a nearly perceptible slumping of shoulders from disappointed Apple fans the world over.

U.S. private-sector employers added more jobs than expected in September, but another report Wednesday showed a jump in planned layoffs in the month.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a modestly higher open on Wednesday after European finance ministers appeared ready to prop up struggling banks and a report on the U.S. labor market came in better than expected.

Goals from Luke Rodgers and Thierry Henry helped New York Red Bulls beat Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 and give themselves a fair shout of making the final play-off berth.

Apple's long-awaited event announcing the latest on the iPhone 5 finally took place and it disappointed everyone as the technology giant did not unveil iPhone 5 but only took the wraps off iPhone 4S, which came with a better camera and iOS 5 pre-installed.

Private sector business activity shrank in the euro zone for the first time in two years last month as new orders dried up, stoking fears that the economy could be heading back into recession, surveys showed on Wednesday.

Stock index futures were higher on Wednesday but more volatility was seen as investors awaited data on the labor market and services sector and European finance ministers appeared ready to prop up struggling banks.

British number one Andy Murray survived a tense encounter against Marcos Baghdatis to progress into the second round of the Japan Open in Tokyo and keep his hopes of usurping Roger Federer before the year-end.

U.S. stock index futures were higher but more volatility was likely on Wednesday as European finance ministers appeared ready to prop up struggling banks, with data due on the U.S. labor market and services sector.

The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms in September jumped to its highest in more than two years due to heavy cutbacks by the military and Bank of America, a private report on Wednesday showed.

Samsung Electronics said it will file patent-infringement claims in France and Italy to ban the sale of Apple's new iPhone less than a day after it was unveiled, intensifying a legal battle between the two top brands.

European shares and commodity prices bounced on Wednesday after finance ministers agreed to safeguard banks from the spreading sovereign debt crisis, though the euro hovered near a nine-month low against the dollar.

Reports suggest England manager Fabio Capello is considering pairing Manchester United duo of Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck in their key Euro Qualifier against Montenegro on Friday.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has plummeted in the polls since conservatives discovered he was not 100 percent ideologically pure. But it is impossible to govern while maintaining a perfect conservative or liberal record.

Airliners were grounded, trains halted and tax offices shut on Wednesday as Greek state workers walked off the job to protest against austerity, defying a plea by the government to rally behind its effort to fend off national bankruptcy.