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World stock markets rose Wednesday, with investors emboldened by reports that Germany and France were moving closer toward resolving Europe’s debt crisis through a massive expansion of the region’s bailout fund.

Oil prices hovered above $88 per barrel, while the dollar was lower against the euro but edged up against the yen.

European shares rose in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 200 was 0.4 percent higher at 5,707.19. Germany’s DAX gained 0.8 percent to 5,925.43 and France’s CAC-40 added 0.7 percent to 3,162.89.

But Wall Street, coming off a strong rally the previous day, appeared to be headed lower. Dow Jones industrial futures fell 0.5 percent to 11,465 and broader S&P 500 futures shed 0.7 percent to 1,215.10.

Asian shares were mostly higher after taking a beating on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.4 percent to 8,772.54 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.3 percent to 18,309.22. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.9 percent to 1,855.92.

Benchmarks in Australia, India and Indonesia were higher. Those in Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand fell.

The Guardian newspaper reported that France and Germany have agreed to expand the rescue fund for nations using the euro common currency to euros 2 trillion ($2.74 trillion). The paper cited unnamed European diplomats and said European officials are expected to take up the expansion along with a package of other measures at a meeting this weekend.

Wall Street rose sharply Tuesday on the news. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.6 percent to close at 11,577.05. The S&P 500 index rose 2 percent to 1,225.38. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.6 percent to 2,657.43.

Gains in Asia were muted, however, since investors may want to see more consistent gains before wading deeply back into the market, analysts said.

“Following recent volatility, it is unlikely that we will see quite as big a rally locally as our U.S. peers today. Particularly at the retail end of the market, investors will probably wait to see successive gains before rushing back into the market,” Stan Shamu of IG Markets in Melbourne said in a research note.

Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3 percent to 2,377 payday loan lenders.51. That comes on top of a 2.3 percent loss Tuesday, when data showed China’s economic growth eased last quarter to 9.1 percent. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.6 percent to 1,004.20.

Hong Kong-based analyst Francis Lun cautioned investors not to overreact to data about China’s economy, which is still enjoying steady growth.

“Don’t worry about China,” Lun said. “I think even a 9.1 percent growth is not the end of the world. I think people just overplayed the slowdown.” The overwhelming concern for markets is Europe and fears of a messy debt default by Greece, he said.

The Greek government is widely expected to go through some kind of default or restructuring of its debt. If that process becomes disorderly, European banks could suffer big losses on Greek government bonds and that could spread overseas, jolting global credit markets. That could escalate into another financial crisis similar to the one that occurred in 2008 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Hopes for a solution to the European crisis sent banking shares higher. National Australia Bank Ltd. rose 1.5 percent, Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 0.9 percent, and Hong Kong-listed Bank of China Ltd. gained 2.3 percent.

Japan’s export shares slid amid a stubbornly strong yen, which makes domestically manufactured products more expensive overseas. Sony Corp. was down 1.2 percent and Toshiba Corp. lost 2.4 percent.

Camera and precision instruments maker Olympus Corp. fell 2 percent, continuing its retreat in the aftermath of the firing of CEO Michael Woodford, whom media reports said was dismissed after challenging Olympus executives about questionable corporate governance practices and several acquisitions.

Benchmark crude for November delivery was up 7 cents at $88.41 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.96 to settle at $88.34 in New York on Tuesday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3806 from $1.3747 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar rose to 76.78 yen from 76.76 yen.

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U.S. stock futures are little changed ahead of a full week of corporate earnings reports.

Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., and IBM are among U.S. companies reporting third-quarter earnings results Monday.

Investors will also receive a report from the Federal Reserve on production from factories, mines and utilities in September. Economists expect that industrial production rose slightly last month.

The stock market is coming off of its best week in more than two years no fax needed payday loans. The S&P 500 rose 6 percent last week, its best performance since July 2009.

Two hours before the opening bell, Dow futures were unchanged at 11,565. S&P 500 futures were up less than a point to 1,220. Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1, or 0.1 percent, to 2,366. European shares are mixed.

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Stock futures are rising on hopes that a solution will be found to expand Europe’s financial rescue program.

Slovakia rejected a bill Tuesday that would have increased the powers of the regional rescue fund. The 16 other countries that use the euro have already signed off on the bill, but the measure requires unanimous support. Still, there are ways around Slovakia’s opposition, and investors expect the bill to ultimately pass before a meeting of European leaders next week.

About 90 minutes before the opening bell Wednesday, Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 86 points, or 0.8 percent, at 11,416. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures are up 8, or 0.7 percent, at 1,198. Nasdaq 100 index futures are up 21, or 0.9 percent, at 2,310.

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Three former aides of a Japanese ruling party powerbroker were convicted Monday in a political funding scandal, dealing a further blow to his status in the struggling party ahead of his own trial.

Ichiro Ozawa engineered the Democratic Party of Japan’s rise to power in 2009, but was charged this year with political funding violations for allegedly overseeing false accounting by his aides.

The Tokyo District Court gave the former aides suspended prison terms ranging from one to three years for accepting $1.3 million (100 million yen) in illegal donations from a construction company and for failing to register a $5.2 million (400 million yen) loan from Ozawa to his funding body in a 2004 Tokyo land deal.

All three aides have denied any wrongdoing, as has Ozawa, who says he is confident of proving his innocence at his own trial, which starts Oct. 6.

Opposition leaders were quick to attack Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s 3-week-old government after the ruling.

Opposition Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Nobuteru Ishihara said the aides’ convictions were serious and “their boss, Ichiro Ozawa, bears even more serious political responsibility business

Forecasters say Hurricane Hilary has strengthened into a small, but powerful Category 4 storm in the Pacific.

Hilary’s maximum sustained winds were near 135 mph (217 kph) Thursday. The hurricane is not forecast to make landfall, though officials say it is expected to rake Mexico’s coast with wind, rain and heavy surf.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says a tropical storm warning is in effect for Mexico’s coast from Lagunas de Chacahua to Punta San Telmo. A tropical storm watch is in effect for west of Punta San Telmo to Manzanillo.

Hilary is centered about 85 miles (137 kilometers) southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, and is moving west-northwest.

In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Ophelia is weakening.

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Man Dip has a six-month lease on life.

That’s about how long local grocery stores will give the spicy sausage and cheese dip, a new product from an unknown local entrepreneur, before they decide whether to keep it or dump it. But that’s a lot farther than most other food startups make it in the highly competitive race for grocery shelf space.

If it were up to Dr. Ted Mimlitz, the man behind Man Dip, the concoction he’s been whipping up for 15 years might have remained just a party favorite and inside joke among his circle of friends.

But about four years ago, Andy Wolf, a serial entrepreneur who has brought to market a number of items including a deer sled for hunters, took a bite of Mimlitz’s dip at a school-related event for their children.

“I said right there, ‘Have you ever thought about bringing this out commercially?’” Wolf said. “I pestered him for three months. Then he called me one December night and said, ‘Do you really think we can do this?’ I said, ‘Absolutely.’

That confidence belies the difficulty in bringing a product to market from scratch. Lots of folks flirt with the idea of branding and selling their homemade creations. But few people pursue it beyond their daydreams.

Local products face stiff competition from large food manufacturers with established brands, bulk negotiating power and money for extensive product and marketing research. Most local food products that have found success at area grocery stores are affiliated with local restaurants or well-known landmarks such as the Hill. Think Imo’s salad dressing, Zia’s pasta sauce and Fitz’s root beer.

“When people see that on your shelves, there’s that connection right away,” said Rich Wallace, Dierbergs’ director of procurement.

Another local example

Katia has weakened to a tropical storm as it moves across the Atlantic but forecasters say they expect it to strengthen again over the next two days.

Katia (KAH’-tee-yah) was about 930 miles (1497 kilometers) east of the Leeward Islands and moving west near 18 mph (30 kph) with maximum sustained winds late Thursday afternoon near 70 mph (113 kph), a 5 mph drop. It could become a major hurricane this weekend.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it’s too early to tell if Katia will hit the U no faxing pay day loans.S. It is expected to pass north of the Caribbean.

Meanwhile two other storm systems were developing over open water, in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Atlantic well north of Bermuda. But forecasters said it was too soon to tell if either might hit land.

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So many of the worst things in life wouldn

Two million homes and businesses were without power early Sunday as Hurricane Irene slammed into the East Coast and charged north.

Winds of up to 115 miles per hour whipped across the Eastern Seaboard, ripping power lines from poles and snapping trees in half. Hospitals, emergency call centers and other crucial facilities were holding up, but officials said it could get much worse as Irene churns north.

Gasoline supplies were falling as drivers fill up before leaving town or just top off their tanks as a precaution before the storm hits. Pump prices rose about 3 cents per gallon overnight in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Dominion Resources reported outages for more than 900,000 of its customers in Virginia and North Carolina, while Progress Energy reported 190,000 customers without power.

Duke Energy said 1,500 customers were in the dark. Pepco, which serves Maryland, Washington D.C., parts of New Jersey and Delaware, reported nearly 80,000 outages. Baltimore Gas & Electric said nearly 250,000 of its customers were without power.

In eastern Pennsylvania, PECO reported nearly 140,000 customers without power.

New York’s biggest utility, Consolidated Edison, said it could cut power to the city’s most vulnerable areas if the storm causes serious flooding. Salt water and rain can damage electrical equipment.

ConEd operations chief John Miksad said the utility doesn’t expect to cut power before the storm hits, but flooding Sunday could bring a shutdown to areas including the southern tip of Manhattan. That would cut off power to major Wall Street institutions through parts of next week.

The New York Stock Exchange has backup generators and can run on its own, a spokesman said. The exchange expects to open as usual Monday morning, though it may change plans depending on the severity of the storm.

New York is regularly blasted by winter storms, but Miksad said this hurricane will be different. Irene’s wind will pack a stronger punch than a nor’easter last March that knocked out power to 175,000 customers, he said.

ConEd has called in crews from as far as Colorado to help repair damage from the storm.

Irene is expected to be a brutal test for Middle Atlantic States, which haven’t seen a hurricane since 1999. The storm is expected to stay just offshore _ and thus retain much of its power _ as it inches up the coast from North Carolina to New England. When a hurricane hits land, wind speeds diminish.

The entire Eastern Seaboard lies in the storm’s projected path. Flooding and damage from winds are likely. North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island have declared emergencies. For the first time, New York City ordered people in low-lying areas to evacuate.

Power companies have called in several hundred workers from surrounding states to help. Crews were rushing out between bands in the hurricane, when the wind and rain ease. They’re looking for damage first at towering transmission lines, where an outage could put an entire county in the dark.

The storm has already caused gasoline supplies to fall as refueling barges wait out the storm off the coast. Widespread power outages could lead to fuel shortages as gas stations are no longer able to pump gas or have trouble replenishing their own gas supplies.

“Power is the lifeblood of oil supply on the East Coast,” said Ben Brockwell of the Oil Price Information Service, which tracks gasoline shipments around the country.

Some gas stations in New Jersey reported that they’d run out of fuel. Those shortages could become more widespread.

Retail gas prices were mostly unchanged in many cities that are expected to be hit this weekend. Rules against price gouging at gas stations took effect throughout Middle Atlantic states. Authorities will be looking for stations that try to take advantage of panicked drivers.

Pump prices were up slightly overnight, as much as 3 cents per gallon, to $3.44 in Philadelphia and $3.49 in New Jersey’s Atlantic-Cape May metro area. They seemed to hold in other areas, rising a penny or so on average in Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas.

The Colonial Pipeline, which transports gasoline and other fuels from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast, stopped fuel deliveries to Selma, N.C., and to Virginia’s Tidewater area as the storm knocked out power. Pipeline spokesman Steve Baker said the pipeline may cut off deliveries further in Virginia and Maryland as the storm moves north.

Refineries, which make fuel from oil, have started to slow operations as Irene approaches.

OPIS says East Coast refineries will cut operating rates 10 to 25 percent in the next few days. Refineries in the Gulf Coast and the West should be able to keep supplies flowing to the rest of the country.

Refineries along the Louisiana Coast produce more than three times the gasoline and fuel of their East Coast counterparts, according to the Energy Information Administration. East Coast demand is going to fall as businesses close and people hunker down at home.

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Isle of Capri Corp. said Mississippi River flooding that disrupted operations at several of its riverside casinos contributed to a first-quarter loss of $2.3 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.7 million, or 8 cents per share, in the corresponding period last year.

The Creve Coeur-based gambling operator said quarterly revenue fell to $245.8 million from $251.9 last year. Flooding caused Isle of Capri casinos on the Mississippi to close from six to 41 days during the quarter. Nonetheless, work is proceeding on the company’s Cape Girardeau casino, which is scheduled to open late next year. (Tim Bryant)

Short-selling bans extended