New York's expanding probe of the home mortgage industry hammered the stocks  of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Cramer: What's Cuomo Doing?   Washington Mutual Slammed 

  Morgan Stanley on Wednesday said it expects fourth-quarter earnings to be reduced by about $2.5 billion from a write-down of its U.S. subprime exposure.

  American International Group reported third-quarter earnings of $1.35 per share, sharply missing Wall Street estimates of $1.62.

  Excluding one-time items, Cisco earned $2.2 billion, or 37 cents a share, on sales of $9.55 billion. In the same period last year, Cisco earned $1.61 billion, or 31 cents a share, on sales of $8.18 billion.

  News Corp. posted a 13 percent decline in earnings from a year ago, when results were lifted by gains from investment sales. Earnings per share came in at 23 cents, a penny ahead of forecasts and below the 27 cents per share in the year-ago period.

  Moody's Investors Service said it cut or may cut ratings on $33 billion of debt -- 10 percent of the total outstanding -- of off-balance-sheet funds held by some big financial institutions.

  For oil, passing $100 a barrel could be just another milestone as it continues its unprecedented climb.

  This year's relentless U.S. dollar slide looked to be turning into a rout on Wednesday, one that could heap more pressure on already stressed world markets and require a verbal or active protest by the world's central banks.

  Visa has tentatively agreed to pay American Express a record $2.25 billion to settle a three-year-old antitrust case, CNBC has learned.

  The hour's top business news, with CNBC's Darby Dunn

  General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner sees "tough circumstances" in the marketplace, but expects "no cash impact" from a massive charge that left his company with a record $39 billion third-quarter loss.

  Six in 10 U.S. consumers say a recession is likely in the next three to six months, a new survey on holiday spending said Wednesday.

  The Fed is a little bit worried. The index of leading economic indicators is so-so, housing's still off, the stock market's skittish, and oil is flirting with the three-digit barrel. The last U.S. recession ended six years ago, so this expansion's a little bit old. It's all pointing to the specter of a recession in the not too distant future.

  Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, both seeking new chief executives after taking billions of dollars in write-downs, may compete for the same talent pool as they seek successors to their recently departed chief executives, CNBC has learned.