BUSINESS

The U.S. government went into a full-throated propaganda offensive Tuesday in an effort to show that the highly controversial 2008 bailouts of American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) were profitable.

Amanda Knox, the American exchange student who was convicted of murdering her flat mate, Meredith Kercher, while studying abroad in Italy in 2007, has been trying to return to a normal life since being acquitted of charges and released from Italian prison last year. But details surrounding Kercher's death are being brought up again, this time in a new memoir from Raffaele Sollecito, the Italian student Knox was dating at the time of Kercher's murder.

U.K. defense contractor BAE Systems PLC (PINK: BAESY) said it's in talks with European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., the parent of Airbus SAS, about a possible merger that would create a European counterweight to U.S. companies including The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA).

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, introduced its iPhone 5, the successor to the best-selling iPhone 4S, on all three major U.S. carriers, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), the Verizon Wireless unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S).

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), the Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based pharmaceutical giant, is borrowing about $2.5 billion to service corporate and contribute to its pension fund.

Today is the big day for Apple fans, and for all of those following the news about the iPhone 5, or, quite possibly, the "new iPhone." All eyes are on San Francisco -- and Cupertino -- as we rapidly approach the 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST) starting time for Apple's product launch, which should see the unveiling of the new iPhone, a new family of iPods, an an all-new "iPad Mini," among other things. However, if you're looking for a live stream from the Yerba Buena Center for the Ar...

The same day Kate Middleton donned one of her dresses on the first day of her Diamond Jubilee tour, designer Jenny Packham debuted her Spring 2013 collection at New York Fashion Week which she said was based on the women of yesteryear's SIn City.

In his first public appearance following his social media company's disastrous IPO in May, Mark Zuckerberg's address at Tuesday's TechCrunch Disrupt helped boost the shares price of Facebook's (Nasdaq: FB) close partner Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA), which has retained its prominence on the social network's app marketplace despite continuing financial woes and a seemingly endless round of executive departures. Zynga reached a recent stock high in mid-morning morning trading on Wednesday, f...

New evidence discovered directly on Apple's website tells us that the name of the new iPhone, expected to be unveiled today in San Francisco, could very well in fact be "iPhone 5." Search results on Apple also included references to LTE on the iPhone, which would also appear to confirm the rumor that the iPhone 5 will support the high-speed Long-Term Evolution network.

The Marc Jacobs show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York was a madcap scene evoking the feeling of Andy Warhol's Factory in the 1960's with a swingin' mod Spring 2013 collection.

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, delivered the following State of the Union 2012 speech during a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on September 12, 2012

Market bulls charged on Wednesday -- running U.S. stock futures, European stocks, the euro, oil and gold higher -- in the wake of a German court ruling that backs the country's participation in the euro zone's new bailout fund created to prevent the weakest euro economies from going bust. However, some economists warn that it's too early to sound the all-clear on the fate of the single currency bloc.

Shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, rose $2.04 to $662.63, Wednesday in advance of the expected announcement of the iPhone 5 at a product introduction in San Francisco, which isn’t scheduled until late morning.

As expected, Apple looks like it's finally ready to release the latest version of OS X Mountain Lion at today's scheduled media event in San Francisco, which will reportedly see the debut of several iOS devices including the next-generation iPhone, a new line-up of iPods, and an all-new "iPad Mini." The company seeded the final version of the newest Mountain Lion update to developers on Tuesday evening.

Nearly three-hundred people have died in a fire that swept through a garment factory in Karachi, Pakistan, making the inferno one of worst industrial accidents in the country’s history.

Chesapeake Energy Corp said it will sell most of its Permian Basin properties to Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp and a majority of its pipeline assets to raise about $6.9 billion in cash.

With just a few hours to go for the much-awaited Apple's (AAPL) Sept.12 event, excitement about the announcements of the next generation iPhone and new gadgets seemed to have hit the roof.

Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social networking site, vaulted 6 percent in pre-market Wednesday trading following CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s acknowledgement of “disappointing” performance since the highly touted May 17 initial public offering.

Alcatel Lucent SA, Nokia Corp, Sohu.com, Facebook, Barclays, Banco Santander, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, Morgan Stanley and Apple Inc. are among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Wednesday.

Indonesia is the fifth-largest cigarette-producing market in the world. The government generates 6 percent of its revenue from taxes on tobacco.

The 2013 Mazda CX-5 crossover is an example of utilitarian design and great gas mileage, but it will leave car enthusiasts a bit wanting in the speed and handling departments.

Markets have been talking about QE3 for two years. Now, after a sovereign credit downgrade, the near collapse of the European financial system, and facing an anemic recovery that has only marginally helped heal the carnage in the labor and housing markets, the vast majority of financial pundits believe QE3 this week is "pretty much a given."

Facebook scrip (FB) seemed to rise against the tide as it posted a gain of 3.30 percent or 62 cents to end at $19.43 Sept.11, after its shares recorded a fall of over 2 percent in early Sept.10 trade before recovering to close $18.79, down 19 cents or 1 percent. The revival despite Co-founder Dustin Moskovitz selling shares stemmed from CEO Mark Zuckerberg's assurance to revive Facebook growth story and align services toward mobile and search functions.

In an attempt to boost foreign fund flow into the country, the Reserve Bank of India eased the limit of external commercial borrowings (ECB) by any individual, company or group.

The U.S. stock index futures point to a higher open Wednesday as investor confidence was underpinned by expectation that the Federal Reserve will announce stimulus measures this week to invigorate the economy and boost growth.

Most European markets rose Wednesday with investors awaiting Germany's Constitutional Court to approve the euro zone's new bailout fund to help reduce the debt stress faced by the countries in the region.

Asian stock market advanced Wednesday with investors expecting a positive decision in the German court ruling on ESM constitutionality while speculation of further stimulus measures from China also added to the sentiment.

The top after-market Nasdaq gainers Tuesday were Accuray Inc, Digital Generation Inc, Santarus, Facebook Inc and Applied Micro Circuits Corporation. The top after-market Nasdaq losers were Globecomm Systems, Xyratex Ltd, Education Management Corporation, STEC Inc and Lattice Semiconductor Corporation.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Tuesday were AU Optronics, Genco Shipping & Trading, Beazer Homes USA, Air Lease Corp and EnergySolutions Inc. The top after-market NYSE losers were Teekay Offshore Partners, Vanguard Natural Resources, Pilgrim's Pride Corp, Swift Transportation and General Growth Properties.