Reuters - Microsoft Corp is preparing a new bid for Yahoo Inc's search business and has approached other media companies about joining it in a deal that would effectively lead to Yahoo's breakup, the Wall Street Journal said.

Reuters - General Motors Corp will need to raise as much as $15 billion in cash to shore up liquidity and bankruptcy is "not impossible" if the U.S. auto market continues to slump, Merrill Lynch said.

AP - Wal-Mart stores in Arizona now stock Grand Canyon sweet onions while aisles in New York display state-grown eggplant, as the world's largest retailer says it has become the nation's largest buyer of locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Reuters - A federal judge in Miami has authorized U.S. officials to seek information from UBS AG about U.S. taxpayers suspected of using Swiss bank accounts to evade income taxes, part of a probe that could crack open Switzerland's tradition of bank secrecy.

Reuters - The U.S. economy is facing a tough second quarter and Europe will not be immune to the impact, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Reuters - U.S. auto sales plunged in June to a 15-year low, but a month-end clearance sale helped General Motors Corp retain its No. 1 spot and steer clear of the wipeout many had feared, sending its shares higher.

AFP - Europe's main markets slumped on Tuesday, the start of the third quarter, as oil prices jumped back toward record highs, fuelling worries about rising inflation.

AP - Each week, Ira Cooper opens a letter from another supplier with the same message as the last: We're raising our prices, effective immediately. We can't tell you how long the new prices will last.