U.S. retail sales were flat in April as households cut back on purchases of automobiles and other big-ticket items, the latest sign the economy was struggling to rebound strongly after barely growing in the first quarter.

DuPont (DD.N) repelled a board challenge from activist investor Nelson Peltz on Wednesday, dealing him a surprising blow after shareholders backed all 12 directors nominated by the U.S. chemical conglomerate's management.

Wall Street's major indexes gave up early gains to end Wednesday's session little changed as some investors stood on the sidelines waiting for the next round of economic data at the tail end of earnings season.

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) announced plans for a long-term partnership that would go deeper than existing project-based ties as the industry faces escalating costs and technical challenges including environmental and safety requirements.

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the United States must respond aggressively when rivals such as China and Iran take actions that threaten U.S. economic interests.

In a multi-billion dollar dogfight with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd for leadership in China's online entertainment market, mobile messaging app WeChat is Tencent Holdings Ltd's trump card.

A slowdown in Germany weighed on the euro zone in the first quarter, but the bloc's economy still grew at its fastest in almost two years as cheap food and fuel boosted spending and a central bank stimulus program kicked in.

Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell last week as interest rates rose to the highest level since March, an industry group said on Wednesday.

China's money supply grew at its slowest pace on record and investment growth sank to its lowest in nearly 15 years as April data showed the world's second-largest economy was still losing momentum despite a concentrated burst of policy easing.

Facebook Inc tied up with nine news publishers to launch "Instant Articles" that will let them publish articles directly to the social network's mobile news feeds.

Japan's three biggest carmakers said on Wednesday they would expand a huge global recall triggered by potentially fatal air bags made by Takata Corp, saying they were taking back millions of vehicles worldwide for investigation.

A global oil glut is building as OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia pumps near record highs in an attempt to win a market-share battle against stubbornly resistant U.S. shale production, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.

European and Asian shares advanced on Wednesday as expectations of further monetary stimulus in China offset another mixed bag of data from some of the world’s major economies.

BHP Billiton said on Tuesday it would slash its iron ore production cost further and cut spending to better withstand a downturn in commodity prices that is testing even mining industry heavyweights.

German bond yields climbed on Tuesday on optimism that inflation may have bottomed in the euro zone, lifting demand for the euro, while volatility in global bond markets weighed on stock indexes.

Oil rose 3 percent on Tuesday, the most in three weeks, as a weak dollar lifted commodities denominated in the currency and OPEC raised slightly its forecast for world oil demand growth.

Citing steady demand from airlines, Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Tuesday it is capable of raising 737 jetliner output by 43 percent to 60 a month, as it gave a rosy outlook despite concerns about orders, overall production and defense spending.

U.S. small business owners gained confidence in April and were surprisingly bullish about capital expenditure plans, further supporting views that economic growth was rebounding after a dismal first quarter.

Americans are becoming more apt to quit their jobs, a government report showed on Tuesday, a sign that a stronger labor market and falling unemployment rate could result in healthier wage growth and inflation.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday after a recent run-up in global bond yields unsettled investors already concerned about an eventual Federal Reserve interest rate hike.

Brazilian telecom group Oi SA (OIBR3.SA) is reconsidering the sale of its African assets as relations improve with an estranged partner, Chief Executive Bayard Gontijo said on Monday.

NerdWallet said it had raised $64 million in its first round of funding, far more cash than it needs to run the personal finance startup, in part to underscore its growth and show it has the potential to one day be valued at over $1 billion.

Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) Group will break up MAN (MANG.DE) and transfer its truck and bus businesses, as well as MAN Latin America, into VW's new Truck & Bus Holding GmbH, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said.

Henri Proglio gave up his claim to the chairmanship of defense group Thales (TCFP.PA) on Tuesday, bringing into the open a simmering row with Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron over the veteran French businessman's Russian interests.

Malaysian gaming firm Genting Malaysia Bhd's (GENM.KL) indirect unit Resorts World Ltd has offered to sell its 17.81 percent equity stake in Genting Hong Kong Ltd (0678.HK) for at least 1.7 billion ringgit ($469.74 million) in cash.

A vast majority of Americans would prefer to assemble their own pay TV channels rather than subscribe to packages that include dozens or hundreds of networks, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found in a challenge to traditional television distribution.

Investors in some top U.S. media companies have had a rough ride as their shares have lagged the rest of the market. You just wouldn’t know it if you looked at the bank accounts of their top executives.

Government bonds sold off again on Tuesday, driving down stocks and helping push the euro sharply higher against the dollar.

Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) said it would buy AOL Inc (AOL.N) in a deal valued at about $4.4 billion to gain access to AOL's digital advertising service and content.

A Picasso oil painting from 1955 smashed the record for the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction when it soared to $179.4 million at Christie's on Monday.