Mark Brooks

Overall cereal sales have lagged in the U.S. for years as Americans increasingly reach for foods that are easier to eat on the go.

The ECB's president, Mario Draghi, also hinted that the bank could do more in coming months to get the eurozone economy growing again.

President Barack Obama is nominating longtime fundraiser and philanthropist Penny Pritzker to run the Commerce Department and economic adviser Michael Froman to be the U.S. Trade Representative.

Buffett says most of America's prosperity was created using only about 50 percent of its talent -- the men. So he's confident the country will prosper as more and more women excel in the workforce.

Premier Enrico Letta on Thursday wrapped up a tour of European capitals where he expressed the growing antagonism within Europe to harsh austerity measures that, while bringing down the country's borrowing costs, have literally driven Italians to suicide.

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi says the bank is working with other European institutions to find a way to get more credit to small and medium size companies -- and spur a lagging economy.

Gold for June delivery fell $25.90, or 1.8 percent, to $1,446.20 an ounce Wednesday. Silver fell 3.5 percent and copper fell 3.4 percent.

After a two-day policy meeting, the Fed maintained its plan to keep short-term interest rates at record lows at least until unemployment falls to 6.5 percent.

The ad comes after the Plano, Texas-based company earlier this month fired its CEO, Ron Johnson, after 17 months on the job and rehired his predecessor, Mike Ullman.

Market expectations have risen in recent days of a reduction in the ECB's benchmark rate from its current record low of 0.75 percent when bank's 23-member governing council gathers to debate the issue in Bratislava, Slovakia.

In protests, parades, strikes, and other demonstrations held in cities across the planet, activists lashed out at political and business leaders they allege have ignored workers' voices or enriched themselves at the expense of laborers during what has been a difficult few years for the global economy.

PepsiCo apologized in a statement and said it understood how the ad could be offensive. The company says the video has been removed from all Mountain Dew channels.

Benchmark oil for June delivery was down $2.72, or 2.9 percent, to $90.74 a barrel in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The official said Obama planned to announce Wednesday that he was nominating Tom Wheeler as the country's top telecommunications regulator.

Apple is selling the bonds in its first debt issue since the 1990s. The company is raising the money to give to shareholders through dividend payments and stock buybacks.

The ruling, which came Tuesday, rejects Macy's request for a preliminary injunction order aiming to block Penney from selling the collection of bedding, cookware, and other items labeled JCP Everyday while a larger court battle between the two big retailers over a partnership with the home maven is still pending.

The agreement was passed in the 56-seat parliament as expected with 29 votes in favor and 27 against. Cyprus struck the 23 billion euro ($30 billion) deal with its euro partners and the International Monetary Fund last month.

July wheat rose 14.5 cents, or 2 percent, to $7.31 a bushel. The grain has advanced 6.3 percent this month.

Prime Minister Enrico Letta said Tuesday in Germany "it is absolutely necessary" to foster growth and job creation to help the 27-nation bloc's stalling economies "so that our citizens see Europe not as something negative but as something positive."

Expectations were already high that the ECB would cut its main interest rate from its all-time low of 0.75 percent at its monthly policy meeting on Thursday despite reservations from some members on its governing council.