Microsoft is offering two new advertising-supported Web services, Windows Live and Office Live, as a direct response to competitors' challenges.

At the premiere of 'Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price,' a Wal-Mart consultant was told to leave the theater after the director accused him of trying to secretly record the film.

By Bloomberg News.

China bans poultry imports from affected countries and seeks a licence to make the Tamiflu drug.

Japanese car maker Mazda reports soaring profits and predicts record figures for the year to March 2006.

US computer firm Sun narrows its first quarter losses, helped by its takeover of fellow technology firm Storage.

Media group Viacom thanks the success of hit movie War of the Worlds and other films for a 10% rise in revenues.

Reuters - MBIA Inc is close to settling civil probes into its accounting by federal and state authorities, agreeing to pay less than $100 million in fines and damages and accepting a review of past practices, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

Reuters - German chemicals maker BASF warned of a weaker fourth quarter due to losses from U.S. hurricanes, after third-quarter earnings met forecasts thanks to strong demand for plastics and high oil prices.

Reuters - Bridgestone Corp. (5108.T), Japan's biggest tire maker, said on Wednesday nine-month operating profit rose 11 percent as price hikes in overseas markets and the weak yen offset higher raw materials costs, and it kept its annual outlook unchanged.

AP - Seiyu Ltd., a Japanese retailer soon to become a Wal-Mart subsidiary, appointed an official from the U.S. retail chain as president and chief executive officer on Wednesday.

The chiefs of car giants Toyota and General Motors are reportedly discussing co-operation efforts.

A campaign to get companies to admit to any anti-competitive practices is launched by the Office of Fair Trading.

General Motors and Ford again report falling US sales, while those of their Japanese rivals continue to rise.

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. finalized a $1 billion rescue package for its struggling unit Seiyu Ltd. on Wednesday and named one of its top officials to head the Japanese retailer, which also widened its loss estimate.

Reuters - Credit Suisse beat market expectations with a 42 percent rise in third-quarter net profit on Wednesday as strong financial markets boosted trading income and wealthy clients flocked to its private bank.

Liquidators for BCCI, the bank which collapsed in 1991, drop a £1bn damages claim case against the Bank of England.

Germany's Deutsche Telekom says it will not compete with the £18bn bid for UK mobile firm O2 from Telefonica.

Credit Suisse reports a 42% rise in net profits, hot on the heel of UBS's 72% rise, thanks to greater investor activity.

US President George W Bush admits that plans for a giant free trade zone in the Americas have stalled.

Germany's unemployment rate falls, but economists still search for signs of real labour market improvements.

Proposals for wide-ranging changes to UK company law are set to be unveiled by the government this week.

US software giant Microsoft announces a push into online software services, in what is seen as a countermove to Google and Yahoo.

Reuters - U.S. futures pointed to a mixed Wall Street start on Wednesday with investors seen encouraged by an oil price under $60 a barrel but auto shares seen sold again as General Motors trades lower in Europe.

Reuters - Time Warner Inc. on Wednesday reported a bigger-than-expected 80 percent jump in quarterly profit, beating analysts' expectations, as high-speed Internet and digital phone services drew more subscribers and online advertising sales increased.

Reuters - Beckman Coulter Inc. on Wednesday said quarterly net earnings fell as it switched to a new policy that lets customers lease its medical instrument systems rather than purchase them, deferring revenue recognition.

Reuters - About 1,500 Boeing machinists went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Los Angeles time on Wednesday after last-minute talks broke down between their union and the company unit that operates the Delta rocket program, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

Reuters - Delphi Corp. is studying a plan to remake its Electronics & Safety division by shedding U.S. factories, shutting technical centers and possibly buying rival Motorola's automotive unit, the Detroit News reported Wednesday.

Reuters - U.S. mortgage applications fell for a second consecutive week as interest rates on home loans climbed to 16-month highs, an industry trade group said on Wednesday.

AP - A Wal-Mart executive will take the helm of Seiyu Ltd., a Japanese retailer set to become a subsidiary of the U.S. chain in December, signaling Wal-Mart's determination to succeed in Japan's lucrative — and finicky — retail market.

Up to 32,000 posts are to go at Germany's Deutsche Telekom in a cost-cutting drive to counter tough competition.

Credit Suisse reports a 42% rise in net profits, hot on the heel of UBS's 72% rise, thanks to greater investor activity.

South Africa releases new rules on black economic empowerment, saying more people will now benefit.

Germany's Deutsche Telekom says it will not compete with the £18bn bid for UK mobile firm O2 from Telefonica.

Reuters - Walgreen Co. , the top U.S. drugstore chain, posted a 6.5 percent rise in October sales at stores open at least a year on Wednesday, driven by growth in prescriptions filled.

Reuters - PG&E Corp. , parent of California's largest utility, on Wednesday posted a larger profit for the third quarter on a smaller share count and lower interest expense, among other items.

Reuters - U.S. stocks opened down on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve's latest interest-rate hike and the benchmark U.S. Treasury note yield near a seven-month high underlined investors' fears about rising rates and weaker consumer spending.

The world's largest media company, Time Warner, reports a sharp rise in profits, largely from films and cable TV.

Iran's president nominates a man with little experience of the energy sector to be the country's new oil minister.

Reuters - Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday it may not complete its $25.4 billion purchase of Guidant Corp. because the recall of Guidant's heart devices had hurt the value of the company.

Reuters - A Securities and Exchange Commission probe into General Electric Co. and its use of hedge accounting for derivatives was upgraded to a formal investigation in August, but GE delayed disclosure until its third-quarter financial statements last week.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after a government report showed an increase in U.S. crude inventories for the fourth straight week and Time Warner Inc. posted better-than-expected profit.

Johnson & Johnson wants to substantially renegotiate the terms of the deal for the manufacturer of heart devices.

Rupert Murdoch's newspaper group News International is buying UK advertising website Propertyfinder.com for £14.3m.

Budget airline Ryanair says plans to allow passengers to gamble could do away with the need to charge air fares.

Reuters - Cardiovascular device maker Guidant Corp. on Wednesday said Johnson & Johnson is legally obligated to complete the $25.4 billion merger agreement.

Reuters - U.S. technology stocks climbed on Wednesday after video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. had better-than-expected quarterly results and four U.S. cable operators announced a joint venture with Sprint Nextel Corp.

AFP - World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy urged member nations to be flexible in troubled talks on extending free trade, warning that failure to reach an agreement would harm the world economy and smother the aspirations of poor countries.

Reuters - Johnson & Johnson's planned $25.4 billion purchase of Guidant Corp. was called into question on Wednesday after the two companies differed on whether Guidant's long-term financial health had been irreparably damaged by a recall of its heart devices.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as a jump in earnings from media company Time Warner Inc. and strength in the technology sector sparked expectations of an end-of-year rally.

Reuters - U.S. companies may be repatriating hundreds of billions of dollars to take advantage of a one-time tax break meant to spur job creation, but few clearly say how they are going to spend the cash.

The US warns that efforts to sign a new global trade pact could fail unless agreement is reached next week.

Up to 32,000 posts are to go at Germany's Deutsche Telekom in a cost-cutting drive to counter tough competition.

Reuters - Johnson & Johnson's $25.4 billion acquisition of troubled heart device maker Guidant Corp. , the largest U.S. health care deal in history, may find its final resolution in court, legal experts said on Wednesday.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, pushing all three main benchmark indexes to one-month highs, as investors bought depressed technology shares in anticipation of a year-end rally, and as Time Warner Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings.

Reuters - Prudential Financial Inc. said on Wednesday that its earnings more than doubled in the latest quarter due in part to strong annuity sales.

AP - Under a barrage of criticism that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is bad for the overall economy, the world's largest company is taking a public look at itself.

Anderson Cooper has received extensive media attention in the wake of his widely publicized coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Irish telecoms group Eircom confirms it has received an approach that could lead to a takeover offer.

The US vows to push for a free trade zone in the Americas despite opposition from left-wing governments.

Reuters - Prudential Financial Inc. said on Wednesday that its net profit more than doubled in the latest quarter, thanks to strong growth across all its businesses and the resolution of a federal tax audit, which permitted the company to eliminate a huge reserve.

AP - Seven additional vendors of U.S. Foodservice Inc. are facing criminal charges in connection with an alleged multimillion accounting fraud at the unit of Dutch retailer Royal Ahold NV, the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said Wednesday.

AP - The World Bank said Thursday it expects China's economy to grow by 9.3 percent this year, raising its forecast by 0.3 percentage point amid strong domestic demand and surging exports.