BUSINESS

Sprint Nextel, the No.3 U.S. mobile service, is hoping to turn heads next month with the EVO 4G LTE, an HTC Corp phone with an advanced camera, a big screen, a high-speed wireless connection and crisper voice call quality.

Half a decade into the deepest U.S. housing crisis since the 1930s, many Americans are hoping the crisis is finally nearing its end. House sales are picking up across most of the country, the plunge in prices is slowing and attempts by lenders to claim back properties from struggling borrowers dropped by more than a third in 2011, hitting a four-year low.

Hedge fund manager Philip Falcone said in an interview on Wednesday he is seriously considering filing a voluntary bankruptcy for LightSquared, the struggling telecom startup in which his Harbinger Capital Partners is the majority owner.

Twitter, looking for better proximity to car companies with hefty ad budgets, said on Wednesday it will open an office in Detroit just as the city's elected leaders scramble to avoid bankruptcy or a state takeover.

Stocks fell for a second day on Wednesday as investors contemplated a world without monetary stimulus and a poorly received bond auction in Spain suggested the effects of Europe's funding operations were waning.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Wednesday that JPMorgan Chase & Co will pay $20 million to settle charges that it unlawfully handled customer segregated funds at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi dismissed a German-led push for the bank to start planning a retreat from emergency crisis-fighting, but stressed it was keeping a close eye on price pressures.

Stocks fell for a second day on Wednesday as investors contemplated a world without monetary stimulus and a poorly received bond auction in Spain suggested the effects of Europe's funding operations were waning.

American International Group shares rose nearly 7 percent to a one-year high on Wednesday on news that it could reap billions of dollars from asset sales in the near future.

General Motors Co is hoping a redesign of the Chevrolet Impala will end the car's reputation as a rental-lot staple and catch the eye of more retail customers. The Impala, a nameplate that was introduced in 1958, generated more than half of its sales last year from fleet customers. But the company says the 2014 model, with a quieter ride and cushy interior, will now attract showroom buyers.

European new car sales will decline for the fifth year in a row in 2012 to 13 million vehicles, Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Wednesday, as the group moved a step closer towards a full-blown merger with U.S. automaker Chrysler.

Google unveiled one of its secret projects from the Google X laboratory on Wednesday via its Google+ platform, called Project Glass. Using pieces of smart glass with a heads-up display (HUD) technology, Google's wearable solution mixes communication technology with real world elements to create a type of meta-reality, or smart reality.

The 2013 SRT Viper literally roared into the New York Auto Show when its crew gunned the engine with a heart rattling growl on Wednesday. The new car is regarded within the company as the beginning of a reinvention for Chrysler and SRT.

Businesses added more than 200,000 jobs in March, giving fresh evidence of recovery in the labor market, data showed on Wednesday.

Stocks dropped for the second straight session on Wednesday, a day after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting suggested further monetary stimulus was unlikely and a disappointing Spanish debt auction rekindled euro-zone concerns.

President Barack Obama called on Wednesday for stricter controls on lawmakers to confront the corrosive influence of money in Washington as he signed into law an insider trading ban he said was needed to help restore trust in the U.S. government.

Apple fans are already clamoring for the iPhone 5, and if the latest report is to be believed, future owners of the sixth-generation iPhone will be treated to the most beautiful, brilliant screen on any iDevice. Apple is reportedly interested in Samsung's new OLED business, and may want the brilliant displays in their next-gen smartphone.

Former Silicon Valley CEO Ben Nelson has two years and $25 million to transform higher education.

Stocks dropped on Wednesday for the second consecutive session as minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting published Tuesday suggested further monetary stimulus was unlikely and a disappointing Spanish debt auction reawakened euro zone concerns.

The 2014 Chevy Impala debuted at the New York International Auto Show 2012 with a thunder of hooves and a look back at the iconic car's history, Wednesday, but the final product may just be another member of the herd of American sedans.

Cadillac was named Most Improved Luxury Car Brand by J.D. Power and Associates at the 2012 New York International Auto Show, Wednesday.

The United States is far behind on reforming the country's housing finance system, where the government's mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provide funding for the bulk of U.S. home loans, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.

Stocks tumbled on Wednesday as investors digested minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting published Tuesday suggesting further monetary stimulus action is unlikely.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Wednesday that JPMorgan Chase & Co will pay $20 million to settle charges that it unlawfully handled customer segregated funds at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

Businesses added 209,000 jobs in March, suggesting the recent improvement in the labor market continuing, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

The European Central Bank held interest rates at a record low of 1 percent on Wednesday, resisting German pressure to flag an exit from its crisis-fighting mode while support measures take full effect and support an increasingly shaky recovery.

A U.S. regulator is set to penalize JPMorgan for actions linked to the demise of investment bank Lehman Brothers at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, the New York Times said, citing people briefed on the matter.

The European Central Bank held its main interest rate at 1.0 percent on Wednesday as persistently high inflation offset pressure to respond to the euro zone's shaky economic recovery.

Stock index futures fell on Wednesday after minutes of the Federal Reserve's March meeting released on Tuesday showed policymakers were less inclined to provide more economic stimulus, curbing investors' appetite for risky assets.