Stocks

Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday on optimism about trade after President Donald Trump said he will talk with the Chinese leader later this month in Japan.

Private-sector companies’ spending on bonuses fell 24% in first quarter from a year earlier.

Stocks rose sharply in early trading on Wall Street Tuesday, following big gains in Europe, as investors got back their appetite for risk.

___ Facebook plans its own currency for 2 billion-plus users SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook has unveiled an ambitious plan to create a new digital currency for global use similar to Bitcoin.

Technology companies powered stocks solidly higher on Wall Street Tuesday as traders hoped that a meeting next week between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China will ease trade tensions between the two economic powers.

The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local): 9:35 a.m.

Mark Zuckerberg’s company introduced its new cryptocurrency and related product.

A decision on interest rates is expected Wednesday, followed by a press conference with chairman Jerome Powell.

Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday as caution set in ahead of interest rate decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks.

U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading on Wall Street Monday following two weeks of gains.

The Minnesota-based retailer blamed the outage on an “internal technology issue” that caused registers to malfunction across the country for about two hours on Saturday.

___ Why US-China trade war risks hurting firms in both countries WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses are imploring President Donald Trump not to expand his tariffs to $300 billion in goods from China that have so far been spared in his trade war with Beijing.

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily on Monday: Sotheby's, up $20.74 to $56.13

U.S. stocks posted slight gains on Wall Street on Monday, adding a bit to the last two weeks of gains.

The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local): 9:35 a.m.

BidFair USA is taking auction house Sotheby's private in a deal valued at $3.7 billion.

Pfizer is buying the cancer treatment company Array BioPharma in a deal worth $11.4 billion.

Asian shares were mixed Monday amid a wait-and-see attitude about the direction of interest rates and the trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

Pfizer Inc said on Monday it would acquire Array Biopharma Inc for $10.64 billion in cash, giving it access to the target's approved drugs for skin cancer and the targeted cancer medicines in its pipeline.

Optimism ahead of the Fed's June meeting helped drive stocks higher.