IBT Staff Reporter

Bank of America Corp on Wednesday said it planned to eliminate 3,000 jobs, and shook up its corporate and investment bank after a dismal quarter at that unit led to a 32 percent drop in overall profit.The second-largest U.S. bank said a majority of the cuts will be in corporate and investment banking, and the rest elsewhere. The cuts amount to 1.5 percent of the bank's 198,000-person workforce.

The chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Wednesday that he is optimistic about the Christmas season.

Expectations for a cut in U.S. interest rates rose on Wednesday as the housing market continued to show signs of weakness and the largest U.S. securities brokerage met with its first unprofitable quarter in nearly five years.

U.S. forces hope to hand over half of Baghdad to Iraqi security control by the end of 2008, after violence in Iraq dropped to its lowest level since January 2006, the No. 2 U.S. general in Iraq said on Wednesday.

The housing market took a sharp turn for the worse in September as prices tumbled and sales of previously owned homes fell to a record low, battered by rising foreclosures and tighter lending standards.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) and the United Auto Workers union have agreed on the broad terms of a new round of buyouts that would slash thousands of jobs under the terms of a new contract, people familiar with the ongoing talks said.

Stocks fluctuated sharply on Wednesday, first falling on reports of declining home sales and losses related to credit problems at Merrill Lynch but rising amid speculation that the Federal Reserve could lower interest rates.

The U.S. dollar continued to fall against the yen on Wednesday amid speculation that a struggling housing market will continue to have a negative impact on the U.S. economy, adding to the view that money policy makers will make another interest rate cut next week

Dying winds gave California firefighters their first big break on Wednesday after four days battling wildfires, but San Diego faced more calamity as blazes there burned out of control and kept more than half a million evacuees from returning home.

Stocks recovered from deep losses on Wednesday, amid talk that the Federal Reserve would act to cut the discount rate, the same day that Merrill Lynch rattled markets with its first loss in nearly six years.

U.S. treasuries posted strong gains on Wednesday amid speculation that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates following bad news about dropping home sales and a troubling earnings report from U.S. brokerage, Merrill Lynch, which reported a bigger than expected loss.

The German telecommunications supplier Ericsson has announced its participation in the Millennium village project to provide connectivity in Africa especially in rural areas.

Cisco systems announced that it will purchase wireless networking startup Navini Networks for $330 million on Wednesday, in a cash and stock deal expected to be completed in 2008.

Today BP announced plans for changes to its North Sea organisation meant to secure a long-term future for the company’s oil and gas business in the UK.

China launched its first lunar probe, the Chang'e I, on Wednesday, named after an ancient Chinese mythology figure.

Studying abroad has been accepted by more and more Chinese students and parents according to a new study.

The United States has entered a recession, according to highly-regarded investor Jim Rogers, who told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper on Wednesday he was switching out of the dollar and into yen, the yuan and the Swiss franc.

China’s second largest beer maker has agreed to invest 40 billion yuan ($5.3 million) to establish its first overseas plant in Thailand.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) in Japan announced on Wednesday that Japanese exports to the U.S. dropped 9.2 percent to 1.42 trillion yen in September, showing the first decline in five months.

The housing market took a sharp turn for the worse in September as prices tumbled and sales of previously owned homes fell to a record low, battered by rising foreclosures and tighter lending standards. Sales of existing homes dropped 8 percent to a 5.04 million unit annual pace in September, the lowest on record dating to 1999.

London is the most attractive property investment market for the second consecutive year on an index of European cities.

Stocks tumbled on Wednesday as a steep quarterly loss at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. and executives' warnings about possible future problems deepened investors' concern about the credit crisis.

The world's biggest jumbo jet was set to fly from Singapore on Thursday on its long-delayed first-ever commercial flight, as part of the Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) daily service to Sydney.

Shareholders of Cablevision Systems Corp on Wednesday rejected a $10.6 billion buyout bid offered by the Dolan family, after major stakeowners said it undervalued the New York-based cable operator. The Dolans, who already own about 20 percent of Cablevision, offered $36.26 per share -- a price that several large shareholders, including activist investor Mario Gabelli, have said was too low.

Europe's banks are considering their next move after ABN AMRO succumbed to the world's biggest bank takeover.

Australia slapped financial sanctions on Myanmar's generals and their families on Wednesday as supporters of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 12 years in captivity with protests in 12 cities across the world.

Safe-haven assets eased from Wednesday's highs while stocks fell after U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch posted heavy losses, which were less dire than some predictions but did not dispel investor unease over the impact of the credit crisis.

Honda Motor Co will start to sell hybrid cars in big volumes beyond 2010, a top executive said on Wednesday, while repeating the automaker's target for sales of 4.5 million cars in 2009/10.

Daiwa Securities Group, Japan's No. 2 brokerage, is set to post sluggish results for the July-September quarter as volatile financial markets hit trading profits and the flow of equity deals dried up.