The mortgage giant posted its fourth straight quarterly loss and set plans to slash its common stock dividend.

The Pentagon reopened bidding for a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract after a first attempt that featured bitter competition between Northrop Grumman and Boeing.

Samuel Israel III tried to plead guilty to bail jumping on Wednesday, but his case was postponed after he told the judge that his drug therapy was affecting his ability to think clearly.

For more than a century, Coke has fiercely guarded its recipe. But in an advertising campaign introduced last month in Britain, the company divulged a few facts about the formula.

The I.R.S. offered more than 45 companies the opportunity to settle disputes over the use of certain tax shelters that have been used to shield billions of dollars in income.

Stocks pared early losses and traded narrowly mixed Wednesday as a drop in oil prices helped corral fresh worries about the financial sector.

The chairman of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, has the “unified support” of the board and will continue to lead the troubled automaker, G.M.’s lead outside director said.

Connecticut accused the mortgage giant of steering customers into mortgages they could not afford. California, Florida and Illinois have also sued Countrywide.

Germany’s second-largest bank said its second-quarter net rose by 6.4 percent to 817 million euros, or $11.3 billion, thanks to a tax gain, but said it is still suffering from the global financial crisis.

The fashion company reported a much bigger-than-expected increase in quarterly profit and raised its full-year earnings outlook, citing a higher gross margin and a lower tax rate.