Tesla Motors Inc missed fourth-quarter sales targets and analysts' profit expectations, but Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk on Wednesday said by 2025 Tesla's growth trajectory could take its market value to $700 billion, matching that of Apple Inc.

Brent hovered near $55 a barrel on Thursday after data showed U.S. crude stockpiles set a record for the fifth week in a row, renewing fears that supply is still far outpacing demand.

Asian stocks and the euro fell on Thursday as markets erred on the side of caution over the ongoing Greek debt negotiations amid conflicting headlines on progress in the talks.

Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) reported stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit as demand for switching equipment and routers helped to make up for weak spending by the company's traditional telecom customers.

Activist investor and major Apple Inc shareholder Carl Icahn said the iPhone maker's stock should be trading at $216, far above its record high of $124.92 hit on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 index finished unchanged on Wednesday as investors were reluctant to make big bets while they waited for the outcomes of major talks involving Greece and Ukraine, but Apple helped boost the Nasdaq after an activist investor's bullish comments.

China CNR, one of the country's top trainmakers, said it was interested in buying foreign rail-linked technologies as China seeks to export its high-speed trains and rail expertise.

China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it had no knowledge of any offer by Beijing for aid to Greece after Greece's deputy foreign minister said China had offered economic support even though Athens had not requested it.

China's regulators are targeting foreign firms, a majority of respondents said in a survey by an American business lobby, citing protectionism among the top concerns for their operations in the world's second largest economy.

British data center provider Telecity (TCY.L) is being circled by private equity funds, sources familiar with the matter said, amid an increase in takeover interest in the FTSE 250 company since the departure of its chief executive in October.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (VRX.TO) will scoop up bankrupt cancer vaccine maker Dendreon Corp DNDNQ.PK, after no additional qualified bids came forward by Tuesday's deadline, Valeant said.

Brent crude held steady above $56 a barrel on Wednesday, and U.S. crude rose briefly more than $1, after a smaller-than-expected rise in U.S. crude stocks was viewed by some as a sign that a supply glut was starting to abate.

For Indian business, the government and the central bank, data revisions that have transformed the country's $2.1 trillion economy into one of the world's fastest growing are too good to be true.

Asian stock markets turned cautious on Wednesday while the U.S. dollar crept higher as looming euro zone meetings to discuss the Greek debt crisis threatened to produce more confusion than clarity.

The Canadian government will require pharmaceutical companies to post public notices when drugs are not available or face fines, Health Minister Rona Ambrose said on Tuesday.

Investors are rushing into China's booming healthcare business, helping M&A deal values surpass those of the hot Internet sector, as the country prepares to cater to hundreds of millions of elderly patients.

Asian stock markets were subdued on Wednesday while major currencies barely budged as looming euro zone meetings to discuss the Greek debt crisis overshadowed a firmer finish on Wall Street.

U.S. wholesale inventories barely rose in December, the latest suggestion that economic growth in the fourth quarter was even slower than initially thought.

China's economy is now more sustainable and domestic consumption is steadily rising, Chinese Central Bank Vice Governor Yi Gang told a G20 meeting of finance officials earlier this week.

Crude oil prices fell for the first time in four sessions on Tuesday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that ample supplies will raise global inventories before investment cuts begin to significantly dent production.

Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) reported a slightly higher-than-expected profit on Tuesday as sales in North America, its biggest market, rose for the first time in four quarters, offsetting the impact of a stronger dollar on its overseas business.

Asian markets got off to a cautious start on Wednesday as looming euro zone meetings over Greece overshadowed a firmer finish on Wall Street.

Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk is prepared to fire overseas executives, people with knowledge of the matter said, after weak Chinese sales of the company's luxury electric cars cast doubt on his ambitious global expansion plans.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) will buy about $850 million of power from a new California solar farm to cut its energy bill, the iPhone maker said on Tuesday as its stock market value closed above $700 billion for the first time.

The owner of British Airways is running out of time to secure Ireland's Aer Lingus as questions over its commitment to keep jobs and key Heathrow routes stoke opposition from politicians facing a tough election next year.

Greece and its euro zone partners engaged in brinkmanship on Monday, with leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisting his country would not extend its reform-linked bailout and Germany saying it would get no more money without such a program.

China's Dalian Wanda Group Co signed a 1.05 billion euros ($1.2 billion) deal to buy Swiss sports marketing firm Infront Sports & Media AG, and said it plans to acquire more overseas companies this year to deepen its push into sports and entertainment.

The recent slide in global oil prices is a benefit for the world economy and could lead to some upgrades of economic forecasts, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday.

Levy Acquisition Corp (LEVY.O), the blank-check acquisition vehicle of Chicago restaurateur Larry Levy, is in advanced talks to acquire Del Taco Inc, a U.S. fast food chain specializing in Mexican cuisine, according to people familiar with the matter.

By picking a banker instead of an oil executive to run Petrobras, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff appears to have recognized that the state-run company's biggest priority is to clean up its books and acknowledge how many billions of dollars it lost to a corruption scheme in recent years.