U.S. August auto sales were the highest for that month in more than a decade, thanks in part to heavy discounting by the manufacturers and a strong Labor Day weekend close, with the industry selling at an annualized pace not seen since early 2006.

New orders for U.S. factory goods posted a record gain in July and auto sales last month accelerated to their highest level in 8-1/2 years, offering further bullish signals for the economy.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will return as head of Bloomberg LP, the data and financial news company he founded, replacing Daniel Doctoroff who has decided to step aside, the company said on Wednesday.

Some of the best-known technology investors are looking beyond their tried-and-true Internet plays to bet on healthcare data as the next growth market.

Premium car maker Audi expects to sell more than 1.7 million cars in 2014 even as sales momentum in some emerging markets slows, Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said.

European Union antitrust regulators fined Philips, Samsung Electronics and Infineon Technologies a total of 138 million euros ($181.28 million) on Wednesday for fixing prices of chips used in mobile SIM cards.

Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week as interest rates declined, an industry group said on Wednesday.

World markets jumped on Wednesday as Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said a ceasefire had been reached with Russia, raising hopes that a recent escalation in the conflict could be reversed.

Home Depot Inc said on Tuesday it was working with law enforcement to investigate "some unusual activity" related to customer data but that it could not confirm if it had become the latest retailer to be hit by a large-scale security breach.

A drop in the highly volatile energy prices depressed euro zone producer prices in July as expected, underlining disinflationary pressures in the single currency area ahead of the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting on Thursday.

Abu Dhabi's Waha Capital has entered into a $575 million hedging deal on half of its stake in AerCap Holdings, the Emirati investment company said on Wednesday.

Baidu Inc launched on Wednesday a service that helps retailers advertise on the smartphones of nearby users as China's dominant search engine company expands its location-based technology to drive growth.

Google Inc said a research team led by physicist John Martinis from the University of California Santa Barbara will join the company to start a project to build new quantum information processors based on superconducting electronics.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) is in talks to sell its oil-supply agreement with a major Philadelphia refinery to Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Apple Inc has often displayed uncanny timing, with its well-orchestrated end-of-year iPhone releases. But the leak of racy celebrity photos in the past few days put the company in the unusual position of having to mend its image just days before a highly anticipated Sept. 9 product launch.

Japan's Nikkei share average ended at a seven-month high on Tuesday in active trade as the yen slipped to a seven-month low against the dollar, sending exporters higher on hopes of a boost to earnings.

Deutsche Bank AG's Asset & Wealth Management division said on Tuesday it has opened a private bank in Dallas with two former JP Morgan Private Bank executives at the helm. The move is part of a global push to increase the German bank's financial adviser base by 15 percent in the next three years.

U.S. construction spending rebounded strongly to hit its highest level in more than 5-1/2 years in July as private construction increased and state and local government outlays surged, in a further sign of vigor in the economy.

Asian shares inched lower early on Wednesday after a lackluster day on Wall Street, while the dollar was close to 14-month highs against a basket of major currencies after data underscored that the U.S. economy's modest expansion continues to chug along.

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Tuesday, retreating from records set the previous month, as falling crude oil prices dragged energy shares down and offset strong manufacturing data.

Dollar General Corp (DG.N) raised its bid for Family Dollar Stores Inc (FDO.N) to $9.1 billion, and warned it may turn hostile and appeal directly to shareholders if the new offer was rejected.

The U.S. manufacturing industry expanded in August while employment in the sector grew at its fastest pace since March of last year, an industry report showed on Tuesday.

Though speculation is rife of a new Pfizer bid, AstraZeneca's chief executive is not holed up with advisers in London or New York. Instead, he has spent the last three days immersed in heart science in Barcelona.

Pakistan's parliament threw its weight behind embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday as a deepening crisis over violent protests demanding his resignation prompted fears of an army intervention.

Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday that Moscow and Kiev have agreed to hold a new round of talks to resolve a gas crisis on Sept. 6.

In 2010, former Chinese gymnast Li Ning led a surging $4 billion sportswear business, a gold-medal pinnacle echoing his victories at the 1984 Olympic Games.

World markets advanced on Monday despite the conflict in Ukraine, focusing on whether the European Central Bank will announce plans for economic stimulus when it meets this week.

Throughout much of his presidency, Barack Obama has been under siege about the state of the U.S. economy.

Washington is facing growing international pressure to ease its long standing ban on crude oil exports, with South Korea and Mexico joining the European Union in pressing the case for U.S. oil shipments overseas.

Factory activity in Europe and Asia cooled in August after a strong July, as new orders dwindled in the face of escalating tensions in Ukraine and a patchy recovery in China, purchasing managers indexes showed.