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On Wednesday, pharmaceutical major AbbVie announced that it has entered into a deal worth $21 billion with cancer biotech Pharmacyclics Inc. AbbVie Inc. will buy Pharmacyclics in a cash and stock deal.

The deal, which would be a mix of cash and stock, would allow AbbVie to have its presence in the multibillion-dollar blood-cancer market. Secondly, the deal would reduce AbbVie's dependence on an aging rheumatoid-arthritis drug, which makes most of its sales.

Last year, AbbVie had an agreement worth $54 billion as per which it would buy Irish drug company Shire PLC. But it walked away after the Obama administration increased the strictness level in order to deter such tax-lowering deals.

According to a report of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the service sector of the United States economy has sped up in the previous month even there was harsh weather in the east and slowdown of West Coast port.

As per the Wednesday report of the institute, the ISM purchasing managers index increased to about 56.9. A month before, it was 56.7, as per the report. The increase is about three points better than a year ago, but slower than the level of November. That time, it was 58.8, the institute stated. Figure above 50 is considered as an expansion in the sector.

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) is among the apparel retailers in the United States who have struggled to drive store traffic over the last few years. On Wednesday, the clothing company reported its fourth quarter performance for fiscal year of 2014. The company has beaten the revenue expectations of analysts.

According to reports, the stock of the company has risen about 7.69% at $15.96 at the closing bell. The soared shares have surprised the market with good earnings in the fourth quarter. The company has posted revenue of about $1.07 billion, which was up by 3%. Earlier, analysts had predicted revenue of about $1.06 billion for the fourth quarter of 2014.

Many big banks in the United States have been urging the Federal Reserve to modify the methodology used in annual stress tests.

Annual stress tests are used by the Federal Reserve to determine the ability of banks to survive a recession and keep lending after being affected by potential economic shocks, such as a spike in unemployment or a crash in stock market.

The test requires lenders to project losses on various loans and operations using a standard index through which the resiliency of the entire financial system is judged. They were launched in 2011 under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform bill to gauge how much capital banks can use for dividends or stock buybacks.

Tyson Foods, one of the biggest meat suppliers in the country, is working closely with fast food chain McDonald's to reduce the use of antibiotics in the chicken supplied by the company. McDonald's has asked chicken suppliers to stop using antibiotics that are crucial for human health after reports that the higher use of antibiotics is leading to health issues and stronger infection outbreaks.

McDonald's announced on Wednesday that the company is planning to stop using chicken raised using antibiotics deemed important to human health.

The Federal Reserve has revealed that despite interruptions caused by extreme winter storms, the US economy has shown a growth at moderate pace through mid-February. The Fed said that out of the 12 regions, six have reported moderate growth with modest gains seen in most other areas. The Boston district reported that the businesses in its area remained up despite several huge snowstorms.

According to the Fed survey, the consumer spending rose in most of the districts, travel and tourism increased, and manufacturing has shown solid gains with San Francisco region's aerospace companies forecasting a record year.