The Bank of Japan decided to pour new money into a special lending facility created late last year to fight deflation, heading in the other direction from the Federal Reserve and other central banks who are moving to exit their stimulus strategies. .

Extended Stay has accepted a reorganization plan proposed by a group led by Starwood Capital, instead of one backed by two other investors.

The SEC chairman said the agency's oversight of Lehman Brothers may have been inadequate during a critical period when the company may have masked its losses.

EBay's PayPal said it will partner with China UnionPay, China's largest electronic-payment service provider, to let Chinese consumers shop from overseas merchants, a move that opens a massive segment of the Chinese market for PayPal and presents new competition for eBay's Chinese rival Alibaba.

The new 17-month intraday high came as a drop in U.S. wholesale goods reduced inflation worries. Alcoa jumped as metal prices soared.

A Turin judge rejected legal action brought forward by the daughter of Fiat patriarch Gianni Agnelli against three of her father's closest advisers.

Alcoa jumped as investors read a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. wholesale goods as an encouraging sign that the Fed can keep its easy-money stance going for some time.

A Milan judge ordered UBS, J.P. Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and Depfa Bank to stand trial in a case involving the alleged fraudulent sale of derivatives.

GM's finance chief said the company has a reasonable chance of becoming profitable in 2010, his first public comments since joining the auto maker this year.

Iran is seeking $200 billion in oil, gas and refining investments over five years to avoid a production decline.