Markets

Walmart , the world's largest retailer, said on Wednesday that following "inbound interest" it was in talks with a small number of interested parties regarding an opportunity to invest in Asda, its British supermarket arm, alongside itself.

Lloyds Banking Group and Virgin Money pressed ahead with hundreds of job cuts in the face of union opposition, as British banks try to keep up with customers moving online.

Home builder Toll Brothers Inc said on Wednesday that the coronavirus outbreak in China had led to shortages of lighting fixtures and small appliances, forcing it to delay sales of some homes in California, one of its biggest markets.

Investors pulled nearly US$3.3 billion out of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that hold U.S. stocks last week, snapping the longest streak of asset gains since July, according to data released Wednesday by the Investment Company Institute.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to back stricter deadlines for workers to sue retirement plans over alleged mismanagement, ruling Intel Corp cannot avoid a suit accusing it of unlawfully making high-risk investments that cost retirement plan beneficiaries hundreds of millions of dollars.

Walmart , the world's largest retailer, said on Wednesday that following "inbound interest" it was in talks with a small number of interested parties regarding an opportunity to invest in Asda, its British supermarket arm, alongside itself.

Shares of Walt Disney Co fell 2per cent on Wednesday after the media giant's surprise move to replace top boss Bob Iger raised questions on Wall Street if his successor Bob Chapek had sufficient experience in the entertainment business.

U.S. stock index futures were mixed on Wednesday after the Dow and the S&P 500 indexes suffered their sharpest four-day fall in more than two years on fears of the economic damage from the global spread of the coronavirus.

Britain should not send Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges because a treaty between the two countries bans extradition for political offences, his lawyer told a London court on Wednesday.

Alphabet Inc's Google said on Wednesday it would invest more than US$10 billion in offices and data centers across the United States this year.