Conservative Party members of the UK Parliament have voted 200-117 to signal confidence in Prime Minister Theresa May, defeating an effort by critics to remove her over her handling of Brexit negotiations. However, having that many members of May's party voting against her indicates the serious challenges she faces in getting her Brexit deal through Parliament.

A tight triangle pattern is forming on the US dollar-Japanese yen chart, suggesting the pair could move sharply in either direction. The pair could breach a line of resistance that has been in place since May 2017, but technical analyst Blake Morrow advises investor caution.

"Internal audit's impact and influence are strengthening at many organizations, but obviously there is still a lot of room for improvement," writes Richard Chambers, IIA president and CEO. Chambers shares several characteristics of internal audit functions that are seen as influential.

US investment banks are eyeing Brexit as an opportunity to make inroads into European capital markets. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan says dislocation from Brexit will set back EU capital markets by more than a decade and will provide an opening for US institutions.

A Department of Labor information letter indicates that state laws requiring written consent of employees before companies can withhold contributions for benefit plans are invalid. The letter says such laws are pre-empted by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Markets have given a lukewarm reaction to Credit Suisse's plan to buy back up to 3 billion Swiss francs in stock during the next two years and to boost annual dividend payments by 5%. The bank's shares rose slightly more than 1% Wednesday in response to the plan.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has held initial talks with Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing to explore options for merging the bank with Commerzbank, sources say. The talks indicate a turnaround at Germany's biggest bank is unlikely.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has proposed reducing a planned budget deficit next year to 2.04% of GDP from 2.4% to end a standoff with the European Commission. The yield on Italian two-year debt declined to the lowest level in seven months Wednesday in light of news that the government was softening its stance on public spending.

Banks are worried regulators in different countries will embrace inconsistent fallbacks to replace Libor, which is expected to be unavailable after 2021. Uncertainty about Libor fallbacks makes planning difficult for banks.

EU member governments have agreed to grant derivatives traders a one-year equivalence period to access UK market infrastructure in the event of a no-deal Brexit.