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• Atlantic City casino shares gain on NJ nod for online gambling Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:40 AM ET

  Feb 27- The legalization of online gambling in New Jersey sent shares of Caesars Entertainment Corp and Boyd Gaming Corp higher, on expectations that this will revive business in Atlantic City, the second-biggest U.S. gaming destination.

• UPDATE 2-Russia close to landmark oil and gas deals with China Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:37 AM ET

  *Gazprom and China have been in gas talks for years. *Gazprom had planned to sell 68 bcm of gas to China per year. MOSCOW, Feb 27- Russian state-owned energy companies Rosneft and Gazprom moved closer to landmark deals with China on Wednesday, urged by President Vladimir Putin to forge deeper ties with Asia's growing energy markets.

• US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall Street opens flat, Bernanke due to speak Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:34 AM ET

  NEW YORK, Feb 27- U.S. stocks opened little changed on Wednesday as investors awaited a second round of testimony in Congress by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for clarity on the longevity of the Fed's economic stimulus program. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 10.68 points, or 0.08 percent, to 13,889.45.

• Miners' austerity talk could create pressure for next bull run Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:27 AM ET

  LONDON, Feb 27- A generation of new bosses taking the helm at the world's biggest mining companies is unanimous in preaching austerity: no major project approvals, no blockbuster deals, no risks.

• TREASURIES-Prices gain as U.S. austerity looms, before auction Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:23 AM ET

  *Treasury to auction $29 billion seven-year notes. *Fed to buy $4.25 billion to $5.25 billion debt due 2017. It may be month-end extensions, or fear of sequestration, but the market has a very strong bid to it, "said Charles Comiskey, head of Treasuries trading at Bank of Nova Scotia in New York.

• Blizzard eases U.S. Plains drought but crops need more moisture Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:12 AM ET

  CHICAGO, Feb 27- A blizzard this week in the drought-stricken U.S. Andy Karst of World Weather Inc said the blast of winter weather dropped a foot of snow in many areas with up to 19 inches in the Texas Panhandle on Monday. " It will benefit most areas but parts of western Kansas and eastern Colorado missed out on the storm, so it remains too dry there, "Karst said."

• WRAPUP 1-U.S. business spending plans gauge hits one-year high Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:08 AM ET

  WASHINGTON, Feb 27- A gauge of planned U.S. business spending increased by the most in just over a year in January and new orders for long-lasting manufactured goods excluding transportation rose solidly, pointing to underlying strength in factory activity.

• TJX Q4 results rise but sees smaller year same-store sales rise Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:05 AM ET

  Feb 27- TJX Cos Inc, the owner of the low-price T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains, on Wednesday reported higher fourth-quarter results, but forecast a slower pace of sales growth for the new fiscal year and gave a profit forecast below Wall Street's projections.

• MIDEAST DEBT-Islamic bonds go mainstream - at a price Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:00 AM ET

  *International investors now play major role. DUBAI, Feb 27- In April last year, Dubai's government issued an Islamic bond and sold nearly two-thirds to investors in the Middle East. Now sukuk are becoming mainstream investments, bought by a wide range of investors including some far from the region in Europe and the United States.

• GlaxoSmithKline unit joins patent pool for AIDS drugs Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:00 AM ET

  *ViiV Healthcare places paediatric abacavir in patent pool. *Move follows earlier sign-up to pool by Gilead Sciences. ViiV Healthcare, majority-owned by GSK, is the second research-based pharmaceutical business to sign up to the new Medicines Patent Pool, following a lead set in 2011 by Gilead Sciences.

• Turkey's private equity boom cools as values rise Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:00 AM ET

  Europe's fastest-growing economy has attracted some of the top names in private equity over the past decade, including U.S.-based firms Carlyle Group, KKR and TPG Capital, and Europe's Bridgepoint.

• Factories struggle in Egypt as costs, risks rise Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:00 AM ET

  MADINAT ELSADAT, Egypt, Feb 27- The blue steel gates of Abu al-Makarim factory, once busy with staff carrying Egyptian carpets for export, are now rust-encrusted and bolted shut after worker strikes and financial problems forced the plant out of business eight months ago.

• MIDEAST MONEY-Qatar finds vast building plans need more than money Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:00 AM ET

  *Qatar to spend about $140 bln on projects through 2022. Qatar's huge infrastructure building plans, which envisage spending about $140 billion through 2022, promise to transform the tiny, gas-rich country. But Qatar is finding that its vast wealth alone is not enough to push forward the programme.

• Property speculators' return fuels Dubai bubble fear Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 9:00 AM ET

  DUBAI, Feb 27- Property speculators are back in Dubai, aiming to make their fortunes by buying apartments and villas for cash, then selling them within months, weeks or even days. It's a sign, some people fear, that Dubai risks repeating the mistakes of the past.

• UPDATE 1-Clearwire in $80 million financing deal with Sprint Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 8:56 AM ET

  Feb 27- Clearwire Corp said on Wednesday it will draw on $80 million in financing from Sprint Nextel Corp, which wants to buy out the company, even though Clearwire said it will continue talks with rival bidder Dish Networks Corp.

• UPDATE 1-Dollar Tree profit climbs; shares rise in early trading Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 8:55 AM ET

  Feb 27- Dollar Tree Inc posted a bigger-than-expected increase in quarterly profit on Wednesday after shoppers spent more in its stores and the chain controlled costs, and its shares rose more than 5 percent to their highest level since October.

• UPDATE 1-Fortress profit climbs on strong fund returns Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 8:54 AM ET

  *Pre-tax DE grows to $107 mln from $50 mln a year earlier. Feb 27- U.S. alternative asset manager Fortress Investment Group LLC said on Wednesday profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter as many of its funds recorded gains that helped boost incentive income.

• Fitch says U.S. spending cuts would not prompt ratings action Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 8:50 AM ET

  NEW YORK, Feb 27- Fitch Ratings on Wednesday said implementation of automatic U.S. government spending cuts due March 1, along with a government shutdown, would not prompt a negative rating action.

• UPDATE 1-Mexico's Coke Femsa reports higher 4th-qtr profit Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 8:42 AM ET

  Feb 27- Mexico's Coca-Cola Femsa on Wednesday said its fourth-quarter profit rose 35 percent. The company, a joint venture of Coca-Cola Co and Mexican firm Femsa, said fourth-quarter profit increased to 4.324 billion pesos from 3.212 billion pesos in the year-earlier period.

• UPDATE 1-S.Africa sees lower growth, wider budget gap as revenue wanes Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 | 8:37 AM ET

  CAPE TOWN, Feb 27- South Africa cut its 2013 economic growth forecast due to subdued demand from export markets and projected a slightly wider budget deficit than previously forecast because of revenue collection undershooting targets.