How the major stock indexes fared on Wednesday

WASHINGTON - US trade officials sent a letter to their Chinese counterparts Wednesday urging them to revoke an order that requires a controversial internet filtering software to be installed on computers. The Green Dam software, which China will require on all new computers from July 1, could be used to restrict free speech and raises questions about free trade, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said in a letter to the Chinese government.

MGM Mirage, Monsanto, Boeing are big movers NEW YORK — Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE: MGM Mirage, up 85 cents at $6.69 The casino operator said an amendment to a credit agreement has erased doubts about its near-term ability to continue operating. Monsanto Co., down $3.14 at $76.16

LinkedIn connects with ex-Yahoo exec as new CEO SAN FRANCISCO — After six months of grooming, LinkedIn Corp. founder Reid Hoffman has decided former Yahoo Inc. executive Jeff Weiner is ready to take over his job running the Internet's largest site devoted to professional networking. The change in command announced Wednesday isn't a surprise, given that Hoffman brought in Weiner as LinkedIn's interim president to start the year. Weiner joined LinkedIn as Hoffman reclaimed his job as the Mountain View-based company's chief executive from Dan Nye, whom he hired to run LinkedIn in early 2007.

UK retailer Habitat sorry for Iran tags on Twitter LONDON — British homewares retailer Habitat apologized on Wednesday after ads for the store appeared on Twitter tagged with words linked to the Iranian election crisis. Some Twitter users became angry after the upmarket store's messages turned up in searches for topics such as "Iran" and "Mousavi," the name of Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.