U.S. stocks poke into positive turf on upbeat manufacturing data

Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:03:11 -0400
U.S. stocks poke into positive turf on upbeat manufacturing data

The Dow is fractionally higher after an upbeat report on the
manufacturing sector, even as some investors fretted about the closure
of a hedge fund partly owned by Lehman Bros.

HSBC and China bank said to be latest Lehman suitors: report

HSBC Holdings and a Chinese bank are among the potential bidders for the
Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers, the South Korean daily
Chosun Ilbo reported Wednesday.

Staples profit off 16%, sticks to low growth outlook

Staples Inc. on Wednesday reported fiscal second-quarter profit fell
16%, with the office-supplies retailer sticking to its low-growth
outlook for the year.

Currencies: Dollar off highs but holding gains vs. most rivals

The dollar moves off session highs but still notches solid gains against
most of its major counterparts.

Punch Taverns wobbles as pub chain scraps dividend

Shares of Britain's Punch Taverns drop as much as 15% on Wednesday as
the company scraps its dividend, the latest evidence to reflect that
Brits aren't drowning their economic sorrows at the pub.