IBT Staff Reporter

Wells Fargo & Co swung to a fourth-quarter profit on a pickup in fee income, even as it repaid $25 billion in bailout funds to the U.S. government.

Graco Children's Products is recalling 1.5 million strollers after reports that seven children have had their fingertips amputated or lacerated.

U.S. stocks extended losses on Wednesday as investors pummeled technology shares, sending the Nasdaq down more than 2 percent following IBM's disappointing outlook.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday faced a fight to save his legislative agenda and keep his healthcare overhaul alive after his Democratic Party lost a key Senate seat, underscoring the challenges he faces at the one-year mark of his presidency.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as quarterly results from three big U.S. banks raised concerns about the stability of the sector and analysts questioned IBM's profit forecast.

Over a week after a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, another 6.1 magnitude struck the island on Wednesday morning around 6 a.m local time.

Wells Fargo & Co and U.S. Bancorp reported better-than-forecast quarterly earnings, helped by recent acquisitions, while larger rival Bank of America Corp got a boost from Merrill Lynch.

Oil slipped below $78 a barrel on Wednesday on fresh evidence of tightening credit policy in China, a stronger dollar and expectations that U.S. refiners processed less crude in the latest week.

U.S. producer prices rose for the third month in a row in December, increasing by 0.2 percent on a surge in food prices and recording their largest year-on-year gain since October 2008, according to a government report on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 index fell 15.42 points to trade at 1,134.81 in morning trading while the Dow lost 164.6 points to trade at 10,560.83.

While the recession hampered IT spending last year, 2009 was a good year for solid state drive (SSD) vendors, with SSD shipments increasing 14 percent year for year.

The homebuilding industry's biggest trade show meets this week, but most of its biggest executives will not be there.

Bank of America Corp reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, hurt by still-high loan losses and its repayment of U.S. government bailout aid.

(Corrects global markets unit net income in 8th paragraph to $1.2 billion from $4.8 billion)

New U.S. housing starts unexpectedly fell in December, likely the result of unusually cold weather, while producer prices rose for a third straight month.

Apple Inc is talking to Microsoft Corp about stepping in as the default search engine on the iPhone, replacing Google Inc , according to report on Bloomberg's web site.

Demand for U.S. home loans rose last week for the third straight week as mortgage rates fell to a one-month low and stoked refinancing, an industry group said on Wednesday.

New U.S. housing starts unexpectedly fell in December, pulled down by a drop in construction activity for single-family dwellings, a government report showed on Wednesday.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) this morning reported a loss of $0.29 per share for the year 2009 and a loss of $0.60 per share for the fourth quarter.

JPMorgan Chase is in exclusive talks to buy the RBS Sempra commodities joint venture, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in a deal expected to be worth about $4 billion.

U.S. stocks were poised for a lower open on Wednesday on reports of bank lending restrictions in China and as quarterly results from three big U.S. banks raised uneasiness about the state of the sector.

A largest aftershock of last week's devastating earthquake in Haiti struck this morning 35 miles west-south-west of the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince, on Wednesday.

A sister company to Toyota Motor Corp secured a lithium supply deal in Argentina on Wednesday that could help the world's largest automaker keep its lead in gasoline-electric hybrid cars.

A second earthquake has hit Haiti, shaking buildings and sending frightened people running into the streets.

U.S. carmaker General Motors will close its Opel plant in the Belgian port city of Antwerp, sources said on Wednesday, slamming the door on hopes to save the jobs of the site's 2,300 staff.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Wednesday came out against Kraft Foods Inc proposed $19.6 billion acquisition of Cadbury Plc .

Japan has changed its auto replacement incentive program to give U.S. cars more chance to qualify after the United States complained its automakers were shut out, the Japanese government said on Tuesday.

Top European carmaker Volkswagen plans to build its fifth plant in China along with its Chinese partner, with an initial annual production capacity of at least 200,000 units, the 21th Century Business Herald said on Wednesday.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp said on Wednesday earnings from continuing operations rose sharply in the fourth quarter on increased assets under custody and administration.