Lockheed Martin Corp said on Wednesday it had made a technological breakthrough in developing a power source based on nuclear fusion, and the first reactors, small enough to fit on the back of a truck, could be ready for use in a decade.

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell to a 14-year low last week, a positive signal for the labor market that could counter doubts over whether the economy is shifting into a higher gear.

Hospitals and insurers are expected to give their clearest view yet on whether people are having more surgeries and other medical procedures during the next few weeks when they report earnings, according to investors who are closely watching U.S. medical services use.

ConvaTec's owners have appointed Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N) to explore a sale of the medical device maker which could be worth up to $10 billion, sources familiar with the matter said.

Statoil (STL.OL) exited Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas project on Monday, selling a 15.5-percent stake to Malaysia's Petronas [PETRA.UL] for $2.25 billion as part of asset sales to shore up returns to shareholders.

Staffing firm Recruit Holdings Co Ltd (6098.T) surged in its market debut in Tokyo on Thursday, with investors leaping at a rare opportunity to grab part of a big Japanese company with strong online growth prospects.

Google Inc is preparing to test new technology that may provide the foundation for a wireless version of its high-speed "Fiber" Internet service, according to telecommunication experts who scrutinized the company's regulatory filings.

EBay Inc trimmed its full-year revenue forecast on Wednesday, signaling a weaker-than-expected holiday shopping season for the e-commerce company as it prepares to split from its fast-growing payments arm, PayPal.

China's year-to-date foreign direct investment inflows declined for a third month in September, indicating investors remained cautious amid a further slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

Japan's pro-casino lawmakers have agreed to consider setting limits on Japanese nationals' entry to casinos, bowing to pressure from opponents who threatened to block a legalization bill unless it addressed issues such as gambling addiction.

France's InVivo has agreed to buy one of Brazil's largest pet food makers, the latest Western company keen to tap into an expected rise in spending on pets in emerging markets as consumers become wealthier.

The Brazilian Army has expressed interest in buying a handful of Boeing Co (BA.N) CH-47 Chinook helicopters, the company said on Wednesday, saying that it continued to view Brazil as an important partner for defense and commercial projects.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday that hackers it believes to be backed by the Chinese government have recently launched attacks on U.S. companies.

Netflix Inc signed up fewer video streaming subscribers than forecast for the quarter that ended in September as its U.S. growth slowed markedly, sending its shares plunging as much as 27 percent.

General Motors Co's (GM.N) global sales rose 2 percent in the third quarter, driven by strong demand in the two largest auto markets in the world, China and the United States.

American Express Co, the world's largest credit card issuer, reported an 8.1 percent rise in quarterly profit due to higher spending by U.S. customers using its credit cards and a rise in its net interest income.

Vice President Joe Biden will meet with human resource officers from major U.S. companies at the White House on Wednesday to discuss changes to hiring practices aimed at improving employment prospects for people who have been out of work for a while.

Saudi Arabia effectively started a global oil price war this month aimed at quickly denting U.S. oil output. Slowing a U.S. drilling boom, however, could take more than a year.

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Wednesday it would recall a total 1.67 million vehicles globally in a voluntary move to address three separate defects including a faulty brake master cylinder that could hinder the brake's performance.

Some of the world's largest pension funds and infrastructure investors are forming consortia to bid for the operator of an Indiana toll road that filed for bankruptcy last month, according to people familiar with the matter.

Japan's Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co Ltd (8750.T) will raise $1 billion by issuing dollar-denominated subordinated bonds in overseas markets, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

Cheil Industries Inc, widely seen as the de facto holding company of Samsung Group [SAGR.UL], is likely to offer around 1.5 trillion won ($1.41 billion) worth of shares in its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), a person with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

Hewlett-Packard Co has ended merger talks with EMC Corp and may announce this development as soon as Wednesday, deciding to walk away after months of fruitless negotiations, people briefed on the matter told Reuters.

Seasonal rains are set to disrupt nickel mining in the Philippines for the next four months or so, crimping exports to top buyer China and stoking a shortfall in the global supply of ore.

Manuel Medina-Mora, head of Citigroup Inc's (C.N) consumer banking and chairman of the company's troubled Mexico unit, is preparing to leave in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation.

European companies in Russia warned on Tuesday they were being hurt by a Russian embargo on food imports as well as EU sanctions and risked being "sacrificed" in the standoff over Ukraine.

AbbVie Inc (ABBV.N) said it intends to reconsider its recommendation to its shareholders to vote in favor of the 32 billion pound ($54.7 billion) merger with Shire Plc (SHP.L) due to the changing U.S. tax regulations.

Asian stocks were cautiously up on Wednesday as benign inflation data in China and more gloom in the euro zone economy lent credence to fears of a faltering global economic recovery.

The Pentagon on Tuesday said it had finalized a contract with Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N), for a seventh batch of F135 engines for the Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-35 fighter jet, and the company had agreed to pay to fix an engine issue that grounded the F-35 fleet this summer.

Ford Motor Co said on Monday it will add 850 hourly jobs at its Dearborn, Michigan, facilities to support the launch of the redesigned, aluminum-intensive 2015 F-150 pickup truck.