IBT Staff Reporter

Europe's energy networks will receive a 4-billion-euro ($5.3 billion) upgrade to make them more robust and flexible in future energy crises following a vote in the European Union assembly on Wednesday.

By now, most smart money has typically pegged the US recovery in late 09, early 2010.

China's booming hydropower sector is facing mounting criticism for generating subprime carbon credits from projects that don't need extra earnings to succeed, raising the risk of tougher rules and putting billions of dollars of clean energy investments at risk.

Wall Street was poised for a higher open on Wednesday as encouraging signs about the job market offset renewed concern about the health of banks after a source told Reuters stress tests show Bank of America has a $34 billion capital shortfall.

Retailers, seeking to cut costs in the economic downturn, need to continue investing in environmental sustainability if they want to retain customers, according to a report published on Wednesday.

Solar, like much of the cleantech industry, should prove a profitable bet for investors over the next decade as demand grows and costs fall, a top cleantech strategist said on Wednesday.

U.S. private sector job losses slowed in April, according to a report by ADP Employer Services on Wednesday, hitting their lowest since November last year and surprising economists who had expected a much worse result.

Jim Balsillie, the co-chief executive of Canadian smartphone maker Research in Motion, is trying to import a professional hockey team to Canada for the third time in a move that looks likely to put him on a collision course with the National Hockey League.

Stock index futures turned positive on Wednesday after better-than-expected data on private-sector employment.

Bank of America needs $34 billion in extra cash, a source familiar with U.S. government stress tests on leading banks told Reuters, unsettling markets and stoking talk of a possible asset sale in China.

Wall Street was set for a lower open on Wednesday on renewed concern about the health of banks after a source said government stress test results show Bank of America needs as much as $34 billion in capital.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 share indexes were down 0.2-0.4 percent at 5:02 a.m. EDT, pointing to a lower start on Wall Street.

Oil held above $54 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by news of an unexpected fall in U.S. crude and gasoline stocks, but gains were limited by persistent uncertainty about any economic recovery.

The Boston Globe's biggest union forged a tentative deal early on Wednesday with owner New York Times Co, which had threatened to shut the money-losing daily newspaper, the Globe said.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 share indexes are down 0.2-0.4 percent at 5:02 a.m. EDT, pointing to a lower start on Wall Street.

Bank of America Corp has been deemed to need as much as $34 billion in additional capital, according to the results of a government stress test, a source familiar with the results told Reuters late on Tuesday.

Adecco , the world's biggest staffing firm said on Wednesday it was bracing for challenging conditions in the short term as it posted an 83 percent drop in first-quarter net profit, beating forecasts.

Wal-Mart , the world's top retailer, said on Wednesday it has launched a pilot program to open convenience stores in China, seeking to boost its presence in one of the world's fastest growing retail markets.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 share indexes are down 0.2-0.4 percent at 0902 GMT, pointing to a lower start on Wall Street.

Sweden's Saab Automobile, owned by ailing U.S. auto maker General Motors , would welcome talks with Italy's Fiat about a takeover, Saab said on Wednesday.

World stocks steadied around the previous day's near four-month high on Wednesday while the yen jumped as concerns over the health of Bank of America offset the impact of strong results from BNP Paribas.

Home values in the United States extended their fall in the first quarter, with almost three in ten homeowners now owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, real estate website Zillow.com said on Wednesday.

U.S. supermarket chain Wal-Mart has entered China's convenience store market by opening three shops in the southern city of Shenzhen, a company official said on Wednesday.

Stocks slipped and the yen rose on Wednesday after news Bank of America needs $34 billion in extra capital startled investors who had grown more comfortable with risk ahead of official results of stress tests on U.S. banks due on Thursday.

Zillow issued a correction to its report, and following that this corrects headline and 1st paragraph to say more than one in five homeowners, not almost 3 in 10 homeowners. Corrects paragraph 4 to declining home values left 21.9 percent, not 28.9 percent

The United States recession could end in the second half of this year but will likely not give way to a robust rebound in growth, Janet Yellen, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said.

Citigroup Inc may have to raise $5-$10 billion in new capital to meet a U.S. government requirement that it holds up to $55 billion in capital, the New York Times said, citing people familiar with the matter.

As the impact of the global recession weighs in on wealthy Americans, high-end retailer Barneys New York Inc aims to close two of its seven department stores, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The United States must tackle systemically important financial firms deemed too big to fail through tighter oversight and higher capital buffers, according to remarks by a top Federal Reserve official obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.