Greece's Piraeus Bank SA (TPEIR.AT), the country's fourth-largest lender by assets, is in talks with France's Societe Generale SA (GLE.FR) to acquire the French lender's Greek unit, local media reports said Wednesday, marking the second move by a French bank to offload its Greek assets.

Italian retail sales unexpectedly rose in June, increasing 0.4% from the previous month in seasonally-adjusted terms, national statistics institute Istat said Wednesday.

India's federal government is proposing amending the Electricity Act to give more muscle to regulators to prevent states from drawing too much power from the national grid, Power Minister Veerappa Moily said Wednesday.

BskyB PLC (BSY.LN), said Wednesday that on Aug. 28 it purchased 250,000 shares for cancellation.

AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) Wednesday said it purchased, for cancellation, 250,000 ordinary shares at a price of 2969 pence per share on Aug. 28.

South Africa's developing state-owned mining company will seek to form partnerships on new and existing mines to enhance the role the state plays in mineral extraction, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said Wednesday.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (042660.SE) on Wednesday posted a 33% decline in its second-quarter net profit, due to earlier discounts the shipbuilder offered to boost sales.

Portugal may get a break on its 2012 deficit target from the troika of the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, Portuguese daily Economico reported in its online edition Wednesday.

Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HAR.JO) said Wednesday that its gold equivalent reserves are up 31% on the year, due mainly to an increase at its Papua New Guinea project.

European stocks were trading flat to slightly lower on Wednesday, with investors looking ahead to the Jackson Hole, Wyo., economic forum featuring a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday.