IBT Staff Reporter

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.

Four weeks after an earthquake shattered its capital, Haiti remains in a precarious situation with no clear idea of how to house 1 million people living in the streets, Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said on Tuesday.

The British government failed on Wednesday in a legal challenge to keep secret U.S. intelligence material relating to allegations of cruel and inhuman treatment involving the CIA.

India aims to test a new nuclear-capable missile with a range of more than 5000-km (3,100- miles), a top military scientist said on Wednesday, a move that could complicate security in a volatile region.

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.

Pakistan said on Wednesday it had information suggesting Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud had died of wounds inflicted in a U.S. drone aircraft attack in January.

Iran has arrested several people who were preparing to disrupt rallies on February 11 marking the 1979 Islamic revolution, police said on Wednesday, in a clear warning to opposition supporters planning new protests.

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

Thousands of Greek civil servants marched through Athens during a 24-hour strike on Wednesday which shut schools and grounded flights, testing government resolve to tackle a debt crisis which has shaken the euro zone.

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.

Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc said it signed a collaboration deal with a unit of Biovail Corp to develop and commercialize AZ-004, its inhaled treatment for agitation, in the United States and Canada.

Bart Becht, Chief Executive of consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser, says the chances of big takeover deals are extremely remote in his industry, despite recent talk of a link-up with Colgate-Palmolive.

The report, commissioned by drug maker Sanofi Aventis, suggests that employers would benefit from better treatments of their workers for depression. Depression is the leading cause of disability among Americans aged 15 to 44, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Britain's largest quoted residential investor Grainger said on Wednesday it was back in the hunt for new property buys after shoring up its finances and observing signs of stability in the housing market.

Hewlett-Packard Co is set to win unconditional EU approval for its takeover of 3Com Corp as the deal poses no major competition concerns, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

Guy Hands, founder of buyout house Terra Firma, said IPOs of private equity-owned companies will be hard to achieve this year, returns will be lower and deal opportunities will be scarce.

MDS Inc said on Wednesday that Ricerca Biosciences would buy its business that provides clinical trial services to biotech and pharmaceutical companies for $45 million and certain minority equity interests.

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, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

One of every five U.S. home owners owed more on their mortgage than their home was worth in the fourth quarter, a trend that poses a serious threat to the U.S. housing market's recovery, real estate website Zillow.com said on Wednesday.

Research by Britain's Medical Research Council (MRC) found that lower intelligence quotient scores were associated with higher rates of heart disease and death, and were more important indicators than any other risk factors except smoking.

The treatment involves injecting neural stem cells developed from human fetuses into patients' brains in the hope they will repair areas damaged by stroke, thereby improving both mental and physical function.

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.

Mobile operators worldwide are seen investing up to $72 billion in wireless broadband technologies this year to accommodate surging demand, according to telecoms industry body GSMA.