IBT Staff Reporter

Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipper, said on Wednesday it was raising freight rates from Asia to the Mediterranean and on services from Northern Europe to North Africa and the Mediterranean.

Porsche Automobil Holding SE has abandoned its target of reaching a 75 percent majority holding in Volkswagen AG, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Oil broke through $56 a barrel on Wednesday, bouncing up from early trade around $54 after separate U.S. data releases showed private sector job losses had slowed in April and crude inventories rose only slightly.

The European Parliament sent a major reform of EU telecoms rules back to the negotiating table on Wednesday due to concerns over perceived inadequate rights for Internet users.

Sweden's Pirate Party, which wants to reform copyright law, could ride a wave of discontent over tighter control of computer file-sharing all the way into the European Parliament in June.

Dutch biotech firm Crucell reported a surprise first-quarter profit on Wednesday, its third in a row, on strong sales of paediatric vaccines and the company, widely viewed as a takeover target, reiterated its outlook.

General Motors is set to resume negotiations with the United Auto Workers union this week and believes everything should be open for discussion, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday.

Ericsson, the world's biggest mobile network maker, called on Bangladesh on Wednesday to issue 3G licences so operators can launch mobile broadband services there.

The Nasdaq fell on Wednesday, weighed down by profit taking in shares of bellwether names, including Apple, but the Dow and S&P 500 were near breakeven, helped by reassuring news on the labor market and Walt Disney Co's better-than-expected profit.

Italian bank UniCredit signed a deal with conservation group WWF on Wednesday to slash its carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2020, and provide green loans to boost energy efficiency in homes and businesses.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday federal health officials have found that eight prep school students in New York have contracted swine flu, the same flu that has killed more than 80 people in Mexico and infected 1,300 more.

British oil explorer Heritage Oil (HOIL.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Wednesday it has discovered up to 4.2 billion barrels of oil in the Kurdish area of Iraq, adding to pressure on Baghdad and the autonomous region to unblock a legal impasse stalling oil projects.

A Texas woman with the new H1N1 flu died earlier this week, state health officials said, the second death outside of Mexico, where the epidemic appeared to be waning.

Ford Motor Co on Wednesday unveiled a $550 million investment to convert an SUV plant near Detroit to build a new generation of Focus small cars next year and a battery-electric Focus in 2011.

A Texan with H1N1 flu died earlier this week, state officials said, only the second death outside Mexico where the epidemic appeared to be waning.

Pakistani security forces attacked Taliban fighters on Wednesday killing at least 64 of them, the military said, after the United States called on the government to show its commitment to fighting militancy.

South Africa's parliament is set to choose Jacob Zuma as state president on Wednesday after his ruling ANC's resounding election victory, capping a remarkable political comeback.

The man accused of being the lone surviving gunman from last year's Mumbai attack pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 86 charges against him, including murder and waging war against India, lawyers said.

The Nasdaq turned negative on Wednesday as investors rotated bets out of technology companies and into financials. The KBW Bank index jumped 7 percent.

A truck bomb killed 10 people and wounded 37 others when it exploded early on Wednesday morning in a wholesale vegetable market in southern Baghdad, police said.

Kashmir's separatist leaders are struggling to win back popular support, and are hoping that a boycott of Thursday's election to the Indian parliament may yet breathe new life into the 20-year movement.

Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc , the second-largest global insurance broker, posted a first-quarter profit on Wednesday, reversing a year-earlier loss, as lower costs helped offset a decline in revenue.

NATO began military exercises in Georgia on Wednesday in a move Russia said threatened stability in the region just nine months after a war between the former Soviet neighbors.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge has approved bidding procedures for the rapid sale of most of bankrupt vehicle maker Chrysler's assets.

China said on Wednesday it was concerned after a standoff in the Yellow Sea between a U.S. Navy surveillance ship and two Chinese fishing vessels, accusing the U.S. vessel of contravening international laws.

U.S. President Barack Obama will urge the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan to put aside a history of mistrust and join Washington in an alliance against Islamic extremists at a White House meeting on Wednesday, senior administration officials said.

Regulators have told Bank of America Corp it needs $34 billion of capital to withstand a deep economic downturn, an industry source familiar with results of a government stress test said late on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers reached agreement on Tuesday on a legislative proposal designed to stimulate U.S. auto sales, which have fallen to near 30-year lows.

U.S. private-sector job losses slowed much more than expected in April, hitting their lowest since November last year, according to a report by ADP Employer Services on Wednesday.