IBT Staff Reporter

Risk aversion triggered by troubles with U.S. mortgage securities rippled across financial markets on Wednesday, depressing European and Asian stocks and boosting safe haven government bonds.

Stock index futures indicated a lower open on Wednesday on concern over a rising Japanese yen, a signal that free-flowing liquidity that has fueled gains in global equity markets could dry up.

Carlyle Group, a U.S. private equity firm, is considering a stock market listing similar to last week's initial public offering by rival Blackstone, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Wednesday.

Financial markets expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to announce on Thursday it has kept benchmark borrowing costs unchanged for the eighth straight meeting, marking a full year since the last increase.

Wells Fargo & Co., the fifth-largest U.S. bank, on Wednesday named John Stumpf chief executive, replacing Richard Kovacevich, who will remain chairman.

Gold on Wednesday hit its lowest in more than three months and silver fell to its weakest in more than five months as commodities were hit by the latest wave of risk aversion in global financial markets.

Spanish utility Iberdrola said on Wednesday it will raise about 3.4 billion euros ($4.6 billion) in a share issue to fund its $4.5 billion cash purchase of U.S. power supply company Energy East.

Shareholders in the London Stock Exchange are expected to support the bourse's decision to buy Milan-based Borsa Italiana, LSE Chief Executive Clara Furse said on Wednesday.

Bear Stearns Asset Management CEO Richard Marin is taking a stronger role in managing its two troubled hedge funds and tapped mortgage unit head Thomas Marano to save one of the funds, two sources familiar with the decision said.

German TV broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG said on Wednesday it bought rival SBS Broadcasting for 3.3 billion euros ($4.43 billion) to create Europe's second-biggest television provider.

China's parliament began reviewing the proposed issuance of 1.55 trillion yuan in bonds to buy about $200 billion in foreign exchange that would fund the start-up of the country's new sovereign wealth management fund, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

Travelers in East Asia may soon find it much easier to use public transportation across all three countries.

Blackstone Group LP units slid 5.2 percent on Tuesday, closing below the $31 price the private equity giant fetched in its initial public offering last week, as investors fretted the private equity boom may have peaked.

U.S. new home sales fell in May while consumer confidence hit a 10-month low in June on worries about jobs and the business climate, adding to signs of sluggish economic growth.

Three former Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC) executives agreed to plead guilty to charges they conducted insider trading in the mortgage lender's shares in the week leading up to a disappointing earnings report, federal prosecutors said.

Oracle Corp. the world's third largest software maker, reported profit that beat Wall Street expectations on Tuesday and gave a positive growth outlook for the current quarter that nudged its shares higher.

Stocks closed down for a third session on Tuesday as higher bond yields raised concerns about borrowing costs and more fallout from the subprime mortgage market kept investors on edge.

Prosecutors trying to seal their case on Tuesday against former media baron Conrad Black and his associates told jurors about to decide their fate that defense lawyers failed to refute the core fraud charges against the four men.

Stocks closed down for a third session on Tuesday as higher bond yields raised concerns about borrowing costs and more fallout from the subprime mortgage market kept investors on edge.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and Dow Jones & Co. Inc. have basically agreed on safeguards to the editorial independence of Dow Jones' news operations, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, setting the stage for Dow Jones to accept a $5 billion buyout offer.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) posted higher fourth-quarter net profit on Tuesday, beating Wall Street estimates and sending shares up 4 percent in extended trade, as strong sales of Nike-branded footwear helped offset overall challenges in the U.S. athletic shoe market.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) once seemed impervious to the turbulence that buffeted other U.S. airlines, but on the eve of its 30th anniversary as a public company, the first and still the biggest U.S. low-cost carrier looks vulnerable.

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) dropped more than 5 percent on Tuesday after the nation’s largest supermarket operator reported a quarterly profit below Wall Street expectations, due in part to labor unrest.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) introduced new laptop computers on Tuesday, featuring eight different colors and new capabilities as it attempts to gain a larger share of the consumer computing market.

With about $62 billion of new junk bonds poised to flood an uneasy market in coming months, debt investors and the corporate buyout firms that borrow from them may be in for a long, hot summer.

Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE: DJ), and News Corp (NYSE: NWS), have agreed in principle on a set of protections aimed at protecting the editorial independence Dow Jones publications, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Shares of Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: VMSI) soared more than 48 percent on Tuesday after Switzerland's Roche Holding AG initiated a $3 billion hostile bid for the company.

It's time to sit down and have a nice long talk with your financial adviser, especially if she works at a bank or brokerage firm.

Blackstone Group LP units tumbled more than 6 percent in Tuesday morning trade, falling below the $31 price the private equity giant fetched in its initial public offering last week.