BP PLC's (BP.LN) Russian partners in the TNK-BP (TNBP.RS) joint venture said Wednesday they have notified the U.K. oil giant of their intention to begin formal negotiations to increase their shareholding by buying a portion of BP's stake.

The risk of another wave of global food price inflation is growing fast, Barclays PLC (BCS) said Wednesday, as U.S. grains and soybeans prices trade within touching distance of all-time highs, due to the nation's worst drought in 56 years, which is massively reducing harvest expectations.

A preliminary hearing for the disgraced chief executive of Peregrine Financial Group Inc. has been postponed until late next week to give his public defender time to prepare, according to a court document filed Wednesday.

BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) has paid a $5.2 million fine for submitting false or misleading reports on energy production on Colorado tribal lands, the Interior Department said Wednesday.

Two Catholic priests who are leading talks in a dispute over Newmont Mining Corp.'s (NEM) Minas Conga copper and gold project arrived in the northern region of Cajamarca Wednesday where they plan to visit the Alpine lakes that are at the center of the conflict.

U.S. crude inventories posted a smaller decline than analysts' expectations last week, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Energy.

It's official: The U.S. House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday on giving states the power to force online retailers to collect sales taxes.

Brazil's National Petroleum Agency, or ANP, will release its final report on a November oil spill at an offshore field operated by U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. (CVX) on Thursday, the regulator said in a statement Wednesday.

AT&T Inc. (T) unveiled the long-awaited details of its new wireless data plans, which allow customers to share data among multiple users and devices, and continues the trend of shifting the focus away from voice minutes and texts, once the basis for most wireless bills.

Royal KPN NV (KPN.AE) is pushing ahead with the sale of its Base mobile phone business in Belgium even as America Movil SAB (AMX), which now owns just under 30% of KPN, has expressed its disapproval of a disposal, people familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires on Wednesday.