By Pedro da Costa and Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus is helping the U.S. economy recover but the U.S. central bank needs to see further signs of traction before taking its foot off the gas, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday. In testimony that offered little sign he is ready to retreat from the Fed's latest round of bond buying, Bernanke emphasized the high costs of unemployment and inflation that continues to run below the Fed's target. ...

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are moving higher Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said it was too soon for the central bank to pull back on its economic stimulus programs.

Unless President Assad engages in peace talks, the U.S. will help rebels "fight for the freedom of their country."

By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks, bonds and currencies took a wild ride on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank's massive bond-buying program would remain in place for now, even as the bank considers cutting back stimulus in coming months. Wall Street stocks jumped as much as 1 percent, before modestly paring gains after Bernanke, in testimony to Congress, said that if economic improvement continued, "We could in the next few meetings take a step down in our pace of purchases. ...

By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks, bonds and currencies took a wild ride on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank's massive bond-buying program would remain in place for now, even as the bank considers cutting back stimulus in coming months. Wall Street stocks jumped as much as 1 percent, before modestly paring gains after Bernanke, in testimony to Congress, said that if economic improvement continued, "We could in the next few meetings take a step down in our pace of purchases. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Below are highlights of the question and answer session of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony on the U.S. economy to the congressional Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday. BERNANKE ON WHETHER HE WOULD SERVE A THIRD TERM: "I am not prepared to answer that question now." BERNANKE ON POLICY'S IMPACT ON HIGH MARKET LEVELS: Currently high market levels "may be because the market thinks that monetary policy is creating more profits and growth." BERNANKE ON TIGHT MORTGAGE LENDING: "If you can get a mortgage ... the payments are low and affordability is high. ...

By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank needed to see further signs of traction in the economy before it tapered its stimulus efforts. The head of the central bank said the Fed's monetary stimulus was helping the economy recover, but emphasized the high costs of unemployment and inflation that continues to run below the Fed's target. The testimony before a Congressional panel helped boost indexes by as much as 1 percent. ...

By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank needed to see further signs of traction in the economy before it tapered its stimulus efforts. The head of the central bank said the Fed's monetary stimulus was helping the economy recover, but emphasized the high costs of unemployment and inflation that continues to run below the Fed's target. The testimony before a Congressional panel helped boost indexes by as much as 1 percent. ...

By Ellen Freilich NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government bond market has weakened in recent weeks but some investment strategists fear that this may only be the beginning of an extended sell-off. They point to the relative strength of the U.S. economy with the labor market stronger than anticipated, retail sales rising and consumer sentiment climbing to its highest level in almost six years. Even the U.S. budget deficit is narrowing at a surprisingly fast pace. ...

LONDON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund has called on Britain to do more to support the economic recovery, urging the government Wednesday to speed up investment in infrastructure and come up with a plan to privatize its bailed out banks.

IRS official Lois Lerner pleads the Fifth Amendment before Congress.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Customs officials in United Arab Emirates have seized hundreds of elephant tusks shipped from Africa marked as furniture, the Ministry of Environment and Water said. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said in a statement that the container came from Mombasa in Kenya. Poaching has risen in recent years across sub-Saharan Africa, where well-armed criminal gangs have killed elephants and rhinos for tusks that are often shipped to Asia for use in ornaments and some medicines. ...

By William Schomberg and David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government should spend more now to fund investment and steer its economy back to recovery, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, a call unlikely to be heeded by Chancellor George Osborne. Economic data earlier on Wednesday highlighted the challenge facing Osborne. Retail sales slumped last month while a measure of public borrowing jumped to a record high. ...

By Jessica Wohl (Reuters) - Target Corp cut its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday while turning in a weak first quarter with disappointing sales, as a chilly start to spring kept shoppers from buying seasonal items like clothing. Target warned in April its first-quarter results would be weaker than anticipated, and its performance was even worse than revised Wall Street expectations due to the cool weather and the impact of higher payroll taxes on spending. Shares of Target fell 3.6 percent to $68.70. First-quarter sales at stores open at least a year fell 0. ...

By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Claire Milhench LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's energy price manipulation probe has turned regulatory attention to secretive trading units at oil companies with huge turnover and millionaire staff with risk appetite higher than at Wall Street's biggest banks. Regulators have scrutinised banks, trading houses and commodities markets more closely following the Libor benchmark rigging scandal but trading desks at oil majors have largely escaped attention. ...

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's main opposition alliance on Wednesday urged fighters from around the country to reinforce a rebel-held town under attack by President Bashar Assad's troops and their allies from the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Home resales rose in April to the highest level in nearly 3-1/2 years, which should support the housing sector and the overall economic recovery. The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday existing home sales advanced 0.6 percent to an annual rate of 4.97 million units, the highest level since November 2009. The increase, however, was below expectations for a rise to a 4.99 million-unit rate last month. Compared to April last year, home resales were up 9.7 percent. ...

By Mridhula Raghavan (Reuters) - Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc reported stronger-than-expected results on higher average selling prices and booked its highest quarterly orders in seven years, sending its shares up 7 percent. Record-low interest rates and rising rents have encouraged more Americans to buy homes after the housing market bust, but concerns over rising costs for land, building materials and labor have dented builders' enthusiasm in the last few months. Toll missed Wall Street expectations last quarter as costs, including high lumber prices, hurt profits. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Below is the text of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's prepared testimony on the U.S. economy to the congressional Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday. Chairman Brady, Vice Chair Klobuchar, and other members of the Committee, I appreciate this opportunity to discuss the economic outlook and economic policy. Current Economic Conditions Economic growth has continued at a moderate pace so far this year. Real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have risen at an annual rate of 2-1/2 percent in the first quarter after increasing 1-3/4 percent during 2012. ...

The artist released an obscenity-filled, metaphor-rich music video.

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana's central bank raised its prime interest rate by one percentage point to 16 percent on Wednesday, citing potential inflation risks from a weakening cedi currency and high government spending. Central Bank Governor Henry Kofi Wampah said Wednesday's monetary policy committee also discussed risks to economic growth from lower commodity prices, weaker business and consumer confidence, tighter credit and challenges in the fledgling energy sector. ...

The twister cut a path of destruction 17 miles long and 1.3 miles wide.

By Dhanya Skariachan (Reuters) - Staples Inc missed analyst estimates for profit and sales in the first quarter, hurt by a stronger dollar and weak sales in Europe and Australia. The lackluster numbers from the largest U.S. office supply chain came after rivals Office Depot Inc and OfficeMax Inc also reported weaker-than-expected results. Office supply retailers, often seen as a barometer of economic health, have suffered as demand for their products fell after the recent U.S. recession and during the economic crisis in Europe. They also face strong competition from Amazon. ...

The price of oil was little changed above $96 a barrel Wednesday as investors waited confirmation of a rise in U.S. crude stocks and the Federal Reserve's latest views on the U.S. economy.

LONDON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund called on Britain's government on Wednesday to do more to speed up slow economic recovery, hinting that the country might be able to afford to borrow more to fund investment. Following are the highlights of remarks made at a press conference by IMF First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton and UK Mission Chief Krishna Srinivasan. LIPTON ON FISCAL SUPPORT "We recognise that higher fiscal support for the economy is not a straightforward choice as the deficit is still high. ...

I think one of the reasons people just throw themselves into a dead-end job is because they do not consider their future earnings, or at least choose not think about it. Think long and hard how much do you want to be earning in the future. Knowing what limit you’ll be satisfied with highly determines...

(Reuters) - It is too soon to determine whether to dial down the Federal Reserve's massive bond-buying program, and the economic picture may not be clear enough to make that decision for another three or four months, an influential U.S. central bank official said. New York Fed President William Dudley, a close ally of Chairman Ben Bernanke, said on Bloomberg TV that it was possible to taper down the $85 billion in monthly asset purchases by the fall "if the economy does better and if the labor market continues to improve" in the face of tighter fiscal policies. ...

LONDON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund has softened its assessment of the British government's economic policies, saying in a report Wednesday that it did well to ease its pace of austerity cuts, but stressing more was needed to support the recovery.

The executive director of Scouts for Equality is hopeful the group will change.

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An 80-year-old Japanese extreme skier who climbed Mount Everest five years ago, but just missed becoming the oldest man to reach the summit, was back on the mountain Wednesday to make another attempt at the title.

BANGKOK, May 22 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stockmarkets rose to new highs on Wednesday on light to moderatevolume and ahead of U.S. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimonyin Congress, with expectations of improved earnings forecastssupporting Singapore shares. Singapore's Straits Times Index was up 0.3 percentat 3,454.37, reversing Tuesday's fall, led by a 1.8 percent gainin Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, the top companyby value. Jakarta's Composite Index gained 0.4 percent to5,207.99, near its 5,214.97 record close on Monday. ThePhilippine main index rose for a second day, up 0. ...

The convicted murder says her lawyers let her down.

By Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan vowed on Wednesday to take necessary steps to reduce volatility in bond markets that has threatened to jeopardize the government's fight to end deflation and revive growth. The central bank upgraded its assessment of the economy for a fifth straight month, saying it "has started picking up," as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy prescription of aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus has boosted sentiment and a weaker yen has halted a decline in exports. ...

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi's luxury presidential jet, bought by late leader Bingu wa Mutharika, has been sold for $15 million to raise cash for the impoverished African country, a government official said on Wednesday. Mutharika, who left the economy on the brink of collapse after he picked a fight with donors whose support accounted for almost 40 percent of the budget, bought the jet for $22 million in 2009. He said the plane matched his status and was cheaper than flying commercially. ...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Hard-line Islamist students protested Wednesday in the Afghan capital demanding the repeal of a presidential decree for women's rights that they say is un-Islamic. It was the latest sign of a backlash against the legal protections passed in the 12 years since the toppling of the Taliban regime known for its harsh treatment of women.

A fight may be brewing that could leave college grads paying more.

BANGKOK (AP) — The price of oil fell Wednesday as investors waited for a report on U.S. crude stocks and the Federal Reserve's latest views on the U.S. economy.

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi's luxury presidential jet, bought by late leader Bingu wa Mutharika, has been sold for $15 million to raise cash for the impoverished African country, a government official said on Wednesday. Mutharika, who left the economy on the brink of collapse after he picked a fight with donors whose support accounted for almost 40 percent of the budget, bought the jet for $22 million in 2009. He said the plane matched his status and was cheaper than flying commercially. ...

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England's policymakers remain divided on whether to provide more stimulus to the flat-lining economy, according to the minutes of their meeting in May.

By Olesya Dmitracova and Christina Fincher LONDON (Reuters) - British retail sales dropped at their sharpest pace in a year last month, a reminder of weakness in the country's economy after some recent signs of recovery. Sales of food plunged 4.1 percent from March, the worst showing in almost two years. As the government prepared to face a call from the International Monetary Fund to do more to help growth, official data also underscored the size of the budget deficit, which hit a record high on one measure last month. Retail sales volumes including automotive fuel fell 1. ...