The Dow Jones industrial average posted its 11th loss in 12 days after a pair of discouraging economic reports unnerved investors already worried about a possible exit from the euro by Greece.

The Nebraska billionaire who considered a plan to resurrect incendiary comments by President Barack Obama's former pastor shelved the idea Thursday after Obama and Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney denounced the tactic.

(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc's profit and sales surpassed expectations on Thursday as more people shopped at its established U.S. stores and spent more, pushing shares up 5 percent despite ongoing internal and government probes into possible bribery. Wal-Mart's shares jumped and briefly recovered all of the 8.2 percent plunge suffered after an April 21 New York Times report uncovered an alleged past bribery scheme in Mexico that the newspaper said Wal-Mart executives knew about. The first-quarter results, including a 10.1 percent jump in profit, showed that Wal-Mart's U.S. ...