Business

NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Motors on Wednesday finalized terms for a stock offering of about $13 billion to repay a controversial taxpayer-funded bailout and reduce the Treasury to a minority shareholder. Full Story »

• Slideshow: General Motors Corp.

SYDNEY/OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada blocked BHP Billiton's audacious $39 billion bid for Potash Corp, saying it would not benefit the nation and offering only the slimmest of chances of accepting a modified offer. Full Story »

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Wednesday: Full Story »

How the Federal Reserve's new government bond-buying program will operate: Full Story »

BARGAINING BOO-YA: News Corp.'s first-quarter net income rose thanks partly to its hard-nosed bargaining with pay-TV operators. COO Chase Carey said such fights over fees would help its Fox broadcast business reach new levels of profitability. Full Story »

FRANKFURT (AFP) - The European Central Bank will have plenty to talk about after its monthly governing council meeting on Thursday, even if it keeps its main lending rate unchanged at 1.0 percent, as expected. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Government-controlled mortgage buyer Freddie Mac managed a narrower loss of $4.1 billion for the third quarter and asked for an additional $100 million in federal aid — far less than the $1.8 billion it sought in the second quarter. Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - Britain's state-rescued Lloyds bank on Wednesday poached Santander UK head Antonio Horta-Osorio to be its new chief, as the sector completed a management clearout following the global financial crisis. Full Story »

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world's top retailer, has joined the race to buy Indonesian retailer Matahari's hypermarket business in a deal worth up to $1 billion, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Full Story »

The voters may have foreclosed on the Democratic House, but the lawmakers are still squatting there, preparing for one last legislative session. Full Story »

The natural gas company's Q3 EPS fell 4% to 22 cents, a penny better than estimates, helped by higher prices. Revenue rose 24% to $1.21 bil. El Paso's output rose 4%. El Paso Pipeline Partners , an '07 spinoff that oversees El Paso's pipelines and storage facilities, said its Q3 EPS increased 34% to 47 cents, missing by 2 cents. Revenue rose 34% to $197 mil, below views for $201 mil. El Paso fell 3.7% to 13.03. Its pipeline spinoff dipped 0.6% to 33.65. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - A chastened President Barack Obama signaled a new willingness to yield to Republican demands on tax cuts and jettisoned a key energy priority on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he and fellow Democrats absorbed election losses so severe he called them a shellacking. Full Story »

• Video: Boehner a personable, partisan speaker-to-be AP
• Slideshow: Midterm Elections

SHANGHAI (AFP) - US auto giant General Motors said Thursday it had become the first international carmaker to sell two million vehicles in a year in China, now the world's largest auto market. Full Story »