(Reuters) - Consumer prices fell in October for the first time in four months, taking pressure off strapped households and giving the Federal Reserve more room to ease monetary policy if the economy falters. For now, economic growth is gaining traction and a separate report on Wednesday showed industrial output rebounded strongly last month as factories ramped up production.

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(Reuters) - Olympus Corp offered a plan to cut its debt by about 260 billion yen ($3.38 billion) over the next three years to maintain ties with creditors amid a deepening scandal, the Nikkei business daily reported. The company also told creditors on Wednesday that its acquisition costs for U.K.-based medical devices maker Gyrus were overstated by 33.4 billion yen at the end of fiscal 2010, the business daily said.

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(Reuters) - France and Germany, Europe's two central powers, clashed on Wednesday over whether the European Central Bank should intervene more forcefully to halt the euro zone's accelerating debt crisis after modest bond purchases failed to calm markets. Facing rising borrowing costs as its 'AAA' credit rating comes under threat, France appeared to plead for stronger ECB action, adding to mounting global pressure spelled out by U.S. President Barack Obama.

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(Reuters) - Top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Wednesday defended their companies' pay practices which have drawn opposition after it was disclosed the government-controlled firms were paying out nearly $13 million in executive bonuses. Michael Williams, chief executive of Fannie Mae, and Charles Haldeman, Freddie Mac's chief executive, both argued the compensation structures at the mortgage finance firms were warranted to retain and attract qualified staff.

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(Reuters) - Wall Street stocks rose slightly on Tuesday but lingering risk aversion tied to Europe's debt crisis sent Italy's bond yields back into a perceived danger zone, capping gains. Italy's prime minister-designate raced to assemble a new government so he could speed up reforms and reverse a collapse in market confidence. The yield on Italy's 10-year benchmark bonds leaped above 7 percent, pushing government borrowing costs to a level widely seen as unsustainable.

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(Reuters) - Retail sales rose broadly in October and a gauge of New York state manufacturing showed growth this month for the first time since May, suggesting the economy started the fourth quarter with vigor. Another report showed wholesale prices fell during October as gasoline prices dropped, signaling a cooling of fuel-driven inflation pressures that have hit consumers' pocketbooks.

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(Reuters) - France came under heavy fire on global markets on Tuesday reflecting fears that the euro zone's second biggest economy is being sucked into a spiraling debt crisis after a warning that Paris's failure to adapt should be "ringing alarm bells". Nervous markets also showed concern about whether Italy's Mario Monti and new Greek leader Lucas Papademos, unelected European technocrats without a domestic political base, can impose tough austerity measures and economic reform.

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(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc's decision to absorb most of the rising food costs for its stressed U.S. shoppers and spend on its e-commerce business weighed on profitability, even as key U.S. sales rose for the first time in more than two years. Sales at U.S. discount stores open at least a year rose more than expected in the third quarter ended on October 31, ending a string of nine straight quarterly declines. Same-store sales have now risen for four months in a row.

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(Reuters) - A U.S. futures regulator said on Tuesday that activity leading up to the bankruptcy of brokerage MF Global appears to be "either nefarious or illegal." Bart Chilton, a Democratic commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said on CNBC that he could not comment specifically on the agency's investigation, but that the activity "looks suspicious as heck."

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(Reuters) - Wall Street edged lower on Monday as Italy and Greece rushed to form technocrat-led governments in a bid to stave off the euro zone's debt crisis, and as data showed the region is facing a looming recession. The euro fell against the dollar as initial optimism about prospects of crisis-fighting reforms under new governments in Italy and Greece gave way to caution over the huge debt problems still plaguing the single currency zone.

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