Business

Wall Street was set to open higher on Wednesday, with investors hoping the Federal Reserve will give them an early Christmas present by signaling fewer rate hikes given the turmoil in financial markets and rising fears of a recession.

Shares of FedEx Corp fell nearly 8 percent on Wednesday, after the delivery package company jolted investors with a steeper-than-expected cut in its 2019 profit forecast warning of weakening freight demand as the global economy slows.

MetLife Inc will pay a $1 million fine to resolve claims that it made misleading statements to investors in failing to pay pension benefits to thousands of retirees it improperly treated as "presumed dead."

Shares of chip gear makers fell after a tepid forecast by U.S.-based Micron Technology Inc exacerbated fears that a two-year chip boom was fizzling due to sluggish demand from makers of smartphones, PCs and servers.

Renault-Nissan executives including the French carmaker's general secretary Mouna Sepehri worked on an abortive 2010 plan to pay out part of Chairman Carlos Ghosn's Nissan compensation through the companies' Dutch holding Renault-Nissan BV (RNBV), according to documents seen by Reuters.

Britain's BP has launched the sale of U.S. oil and gas onshore assets that could raise more than $3 billion to help pay for other fields in the United States it bought in October from BHP , industry and banking sources said.