Reuters - Oil fell toward $81 a barrel on Wednesday in volatile trade as expectations for a gain in U.S. crude stockpiles offset surging Chinese imports.

AFP - GM Daewoo, the South Korean unit of struggling US auto giant General Motors, said Wednesday it intends to return to profit this year and currently needs no further financial support from creditors.

AP - The government sent investigators Tuesday to examine a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway, and Toyota said it wanted to interview the driver as the besieged automaker dealt with a high-profile new headache that raised questions about the safety of its beloved hybrid.

AP - China's exports rose in February in a new sign of growing global demand that could help persuade officials to let the Chinese currency rise.

AP - The luxury apartment buildings Yang Xuhua passes on her way to work are a daily reminder of her own frustrated efforts to buy a home. Prices for even modest apartments in Shanghai have soared, putting home purchases out of reach for white collar workers and professionals.

AP - Asian stock markets were little changed Wednesday even as surging Chinese exports pointed to a pickup in global trade.

AP - Derivatives have become a dirty word.

AP - Oil prices hovered above $81 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed mixed evidence about U.S. crude demand.

AFP - Talk of a European version of the International Monetary Fund to rescue errant EU states is little more than a distracting sideshow, analysts and a key central banker say.

Reuters - U.S. safety regulators and Toyota dispatched teams on Tuesday to inspect a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway a day earlier, as the automaker struggled to reassure consumers shaken by its recall crisis.

AP - President Barack Obama stood with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Tuesday and pledged that the United States would work with its ally, even as Greece's enormous debts sparked frenzied trading.

AP - As the economy recovers, energy prices are rising and that is placing extra strain on families' budgets.

AFP - Visiting US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said Tuesday that Washington was seeking talks with Brazil before it imposes retaliatory trade tariffs for US cotton subsidies the WTO ruled as discriminatory.

AP - Job openings rose sharply earlier this year, evidence that employers are slowly ramping up hiring as the economy improves.