Yahoo! News: Business News
Wall Street opens up with Europe (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks rose at the open on Wednesday, tracking European stocks up and ahead of Federal Reserve comments on the state of the economy.

BP shifts U.S. oil spill blame onto contractors (Reuters)

Reuters - BP shifted much of the blame for a rig blast that led to the United States' worst-ever oil spill onto its contractors Transocean and Halliburton.

Obama pitches road spending, tax incentives in Ohio (Reuters)

Reuters - President Barack Obama will push billions of dollars in new business tax incentives and spending on big construction projects on Wednesday, as he tries to convince a balky Congress to pass measures intended to spur the economy and create jobs.

HSBC faces thorny issues in hunt for new chairman (Reuters)

Reuters - For a bank that prides itself on smooth successions, HSBC is suddenly scrambling to pick its next chairman.

Foster's knocks back $2.5 billion offer for wine (Reuters)

Reuters - Foster's Group Ltd , Australia's largest brewer, rejected a private equity offer worth up to $2.5 billion for its wine business as too cheap, sending its shares up as much as 6 percent on hopes of higher bids.

Small investors quitting Wall Street: SEC boss (AFP)

AFP - The head of the US stock market watchdog said on Tuesday that individual investors have been turning away from equities since a May crash that exposed weaknesses in Wall Street's trading structure.

Reid blames Bush, Wall Street for sick economy (AP)

AP - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid knows who's to blame for the sickly economy. And it's not him.

Talbots returns to 2Q profit, offers weak outlook (AP)

AP - Women's clothing seller The Talbots Inc. returned to a profit in the fiscal second quarter as the company cut costs to offset slightly lower revenue.

Swisscom to delist troubled Italian unit Fastweb (AP)

AP - Swisscom AG announced Wednesday it will buy all outstanding shares in its Italian telecoms unit Fastweb SpA, which has been rocked by a money-laundering probe, for a total of euro256 million ($326 million).

Mortgage lending down 1.5 pct as rates inch up (AP)

AP - Applications for home loans dipped last week as mortgage rates ticked up slightly from the lowest level in decades.

Pakistan's response to floods mired in "doom and gloom" (Reuters)

Reuters - Pakistan, whose economy has been battered by the worst floods in its history, needs to abide by terms of an IMF bailout loan by enforcing fiscal austerity, the chances of which happening appear close to zero.

Tight inventories hurt Talbots sales (Reuters)

Reuters - Women's clothing retailer Talbots Inc posted lower-than-expected quarterly sales and its shares fell 11.6 percent as efforts to keep inventory lean and preserve margins left it short of items to sell.