Market News

Banks drop in London on Wednesday after a commission calls for sanctions for bad bankers, while oil firms on the decline put further pressure on the U.K. benchmark.

A parliamentary commission has called for a new criminal law against "reckless misconduct" in managing a bank, with the risk of a prison sentence.

Sooner or later, the robots will come for your job. Matthew Lynn explains five ways to save your career from them.

Europe's political institutions have failed because they see the euro crisis as isolated national events, not as a result of continental and global forces, writes Darrell Delamaide.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee earlier this month voted unanimously to keep interest rates unchanged at a record low 0.5%, while three out of the nine members voted in favor of increasing the bank's asset purchases, according to minutes of the meeting published Wednesday. Governor Mervyn King, Paul Fisher and David Miles preferred to increase the size of the asset-purchase program by 25 billion pounds ($39 billion) to a total of £400 billion. The votes were unchanged from the policy-setting meeting in May. The June meeting marked the last such meeting for King before handing over the governor's role to Mark Carney in July.

Chinese and South Korean stocks fall on caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary-policy decision later in the day, while Japanese shares rally in the wake of strong overnight gains on Wall Street.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Tesla Motors said Wednesday that it is recalling about 800 of its Model S vehicles that are currently in the field due to concerns over a mounting bracket that holds the left-hand back seat in place. Chairman and CEO Elon Musk announced the recall on Twitter, adding that it should be completed by next week. He explained that there have been no customer complaints or any injuries that he's aware of, nor has any regulatory body prompted the recall. Tesla will pick up the car for the owner, provide a loaner if necessary, and return the vehicle a few hours later, Musk said.

European stock markets drop on Wednesday, with what is likely to be a volatile day ahead as investors wait for the much anticipated monetary-policy decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- Hennes & Mauritz AB on Wednesday reported a bigger-than-expected fall in profit, but noted a strong start for sales in June and also announced plans to expand its online marketplace. Second-quarter net profit fell to 4.66 billion Swedish kronor ($723.14 million) from SEK5.22 billion a year earlier. A survey of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a net profit of SEK4.88 billion. Sales excluding value-added tax fell to SEK31.64 billion from SEK31.66 billion a year earlier. H&M said sales were "off to a good start" in June, rising 14% in local currencies between June 1 and June 17 versus the same period a year earlier. The retailer said sales overall were "not satisfactory," though, blaming "continued challenging conditions for the fashion retail industry due to the tough macro economic climate and unfavorable weather in March and a couple of weeks into April." Comparable store sales fell 4%. Expansion plans continue, with an online U.S. store due to open in August and more countries expected to be added online next year, H&M said. It will open new COS stores in Turkey and Switzerland in the autumn. Shares of Stoxx Europe 600 index heavyweight H&M rose 2% in early trading.

Carl Icahn, now the second-largest holder in Dell, steps up his bid to counter Michael Dell's effort to take the PC maker private by urging the company to launch a $16 billion tender offer