BUSINESS

Britain urged European Union competition officials on Wednesday to reject political interference and vested interests when ruling on plans to create the world's biggest exchange operator.

A therapeutic robot has been invented to prevent elderly people from depression and loneliness in Japan by Dr. Masayoshi Kanoh in Chukyo University in Japan. It is called Babyloid.

Scientists have confirmed that a piece of rock which fell into Tissint, Morocco on July 18, 2011 was a pure Martian meteorite. The fireball was spotted in the North Africa sky last summer but discovered six month later.

Almost all U.S. metropolitan areas will see job growth in 2012, but for many areas it will still take years for employment to return to pre-recession levels, according to a report released on Wednesday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

The United States is becoming less economically competitive versus other nations, with political gridlock and a weak primary education system seen as the main drag, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan on Wednesday said about one million borrowers are expected to benefit from principal reductions on their mortgages as part of a wide-ranging settlement with banks over dubious foreclosure practices.

The Nasdaq advanced more than 1 percent while the Dow and S&P 500 added to gains on Wednesday as optimism about potential help from the International Monetary Fund for Europe.

Authorities arrested four people and will announce charges against several more on Wednesday as part of the government's sweeping probe into insider trading at hedge funds, an FBI spokesman said.

U.S. factory output in December grew at the fastest pace in a year and homebuilder sentiment improved this month, further evidence the economy entered the new year on firmer footing.

The English page of Wikipedia, the world's free online encyclopedia, was dark on Wednesday except for a paragraph urging users to protest legislation designed to stop copyright piracy, but that Wikipedia says could fatally damage the free and open Internet.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday on optimism the International Monetary Fund wants to raise more money to help combat Europe's debt crisis and after Goldman Sachs' earnings beat estimates.

While the Spanish have bullfights, the Italians cockfights, and the English go hunting with hounds, the Turks have camel wrestling.

Industrial output rose in December as manufacturing rebounded at its strongest pace in a year, countering a weather-related decline in utilities, Federal Reserve data showed on Wednesday.

Goldman Sachs Group reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit of $978 million, or $1.84 per share, compared with a gain of $2.2 billion one year earlier. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.24 a share.

Producer prices fell in December as companies paid less for gasoline and vegetables, although higher prices for light motor trucks pushed a measure of underlying inflation higher.

Industrial output rose in December as manufacturing rebounded at its strongest pace in a year, further evidence the economy ended 2011 on a firmer footing.

The House of Representatives will resume work next month on a controversial bill aimed at stopping online piracy of movies, music and other content, a leading lawmaker said on Tuesday.

A blackout scheduled for Wednesday to protest against proposed legislation on online piracy has failed to get the support of the biggest Internet players.

Stocks opened little changed on Wednesday as initial enthusiasm over the International Monetary Fund's plan to bolster lending to struggling euro zone nations flagged, but financial shares were boosted after Goldman Sachs quarterly profits topped views.

The FBI is in the process of arresting Anthony Chiasson, who co-founded the Level Global Investors hedge fund, and others as part of the government's sweeping probe into insider trading, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Applications for home mortgages surged more than 20 percent last week, fueled by a wave of refinancing demand as interest rates dropped, an industry group said on Wednesday.

A blackout scheduled for Wednesday to protest against proposed legislation on online piracy has failed to get the support of the biggest Internet players.

Producer prices fell in December as companies paid less for gasoline and vegetables but a measure of underlying inflation climbed higher, sending mixed signals about inflation pressures in the economy.

European regulators will decide around the end of March whether to file a formal complaint against Google for misuse of its market position, potentially bringing the internet company's squabble with competitors to a head much sooner than expected.

The International Monetary Fund is estimating it needs to raise up to $600 billion in new resources to lend to countries struggling with the fallout from the growing euro zone debt crisis, IMF sources said on Wednesday.

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday after sources said the International Monetary Fund wants to boost its lending facility as the euro zone battles a long-running debt crisis and after earnings from Goldman Sachs.

Yahoo Inc co-founder Jerry Yang has quit the company he started in 1995, appeasing shareholders who had blasted the Internet pioneer for pursuing an ineffective personal vision and impeding investment deals that could have transformed the struggling company.

From his idyllic farm in Ireland's lush Wicklow Hills, Colin Hadden hatched a plan to supply his lean, grass-fed specialty lamb to some of Dublin's finest restaurants.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for equities on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.4-0.5 percent at 1045 GMT.