IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stocks were set to open lower on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected retail sales data gave the Federal Reserve more ammunition to tighten policy, while geopolitical tensions over Russian and Ukraine added to caution.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading losses after stronger-than-expected retail sales data gave the Federal Reserve more ammunition to tighten policy, while geopolitical tensions over Russia and Ukraine added to caution.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading losses after stronger-than-expected retail sales data gave the Federal Reserve more ammunition to tighten policy, while geopolitical tensions over Russia and Ukraine added to caution.

Possible western sanctions against Russian banks will lead to a spike in market volatility but Russia will be able to withstand restrictions thanks to abundant reserves, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday.

Canada's main stock index fell on Wednesday, after domestic data showing the annual inflation rate accelerated in January raised fears of quicker interest rate hikes and as Shopify Inc's dismal forecast dented sentiment.

NATO accused Russia on Wednesday of sending more troops to a massive military build-up around Ukraine, even as Moscow said that it was withdrawing forces and was open to diplomacy.

NATO told its military commanders on Wednesday to draw up plans for new combat units in central and southeastern Europe, as it accused Russia of sending more troops to areas near Ukraine instead of withdrawing its forces.

Banks and financial advisers in Britain have called for more time to introduce a new 'duty of care', a landmark change in consumer protection to combat mis-selling and scams.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck southwestern Guatemala early on Wednesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, killing two people, collapsing roofs and triggering landslides.

Paraguay's soybean crushing industry will run out of beans to process by the middle of the year due to a drought hammering production, the country's trade industry body told Reuters, adding it was in talks to import beans for the first time ever.

At least 58 people died after heavy rains hit Petropolis, a city in a mountainous region of Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state, local government officials said on Wednesday, while rescue teams said several more people were missing.

Lithuania's central bank has told the country's banks to prepare for power cuts and cyberattacks as Russia's standoff with Ukraine risks spilling over into a military conflict, according to a document and two sources familiar with the matter.

Poland is planning for a possible influx of refugees from Ukraine in case of a Russian invasion, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday, despite Moscow's assurances it was scaling back a troop buildup near Ukraine.

China's drive for "common prosperity" to ease inequality could be a positive catalyst for the local wealth management industry, as it leads to expansion of the middle-income group and healthy development of capital markets, according to a UBS report.

Israel's economy grew at its fastest pace in 21 years in 2021, bouncing back amid double-digit gains in consumer spending, exports and investment after a very weak 2020 that was stifled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Israel's economy grew at its fastest pace in 21 years in 2021 as consumer spending, exports and investment rebounded with double-digit gains following a pandemic-stifled 2020, raising the spectre of the central bank raising interest rates soon.

Barrick Gold Corp on Wednesday announced a share buyback of up to $1 billion as the miner's fourth-quarter results beat analysts' estimates following strong production at its Nevada mines and a smaller tax take than expected.

The Canadian government, armed with new emergency powers, is promising quick action to clear a three-week old truckers' blockade that has brought the center of the capital Ottawa to a standstill.

Police in the Canadian capital Ottawa on Wednesday started warning truck drivers blockading the downtown core that they should depart or face arrest, part of a promised crackdown to end a three-week-old protest over COVID restrictions.

Police in the Canadian capital Ottawa on Wednesday started warning truck drivers blockading the downtown core that they should depart or face arrest, part of a promised crackdown to end a three-week-old protest over COVID restrictions.

A private prison company will run a new U.S. pilot program that would place hundreds of migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border under house arrest, the U.S.

Wix.com, which helps small businesses build and operate websites, reported on Wednesday a wider fourth-quarter loss and said it could not provide estimates for 2022 due to uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Somalia's biggest bomb blast killed more than 500 people in 2017, Dr. Ahmed Abdikadir Mohamed watched helplessly as many of the injured bled to death.

French public spending watchdog warns about post-Covid debt

Anger in UK over Prince Andrew's '?12 mn' settlement

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has put his government's tough stance on China at the forefront as he heads toward an election campaign, a strategy that security analysts warned could backfire on the national interest.

The European Union's top court on Wednesday dismissed a Polish and Hungarian challenge to a new sanction that would cut funding to member countries which violate democratic rights and freedoms.

The European Union's top court on Wednesday cleared the way to cut billions of euros of funds to Poland and Hungary, whose populist rulers the bloc accuses of violating democratic rights.

Russia said more of its forces surrounding Ukraine were withdrawing on Wednesday but Britain joined the United States in saying it had yet to be convinced the pullout was real.