UNITED STATES

A proposed settlement to resolve mortgage abuses by top U.S. banks will give states broad authority to punish firms that mistreat borrowers in the future, according to documents seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Don Cornelius, creator of the iconic TV music and dance show Soul Train that helped introduce Americans to black pop culture, died on Wednesday after shooting himself in the head, Los Angeles officials said.

Yum Brand Inc's Taco Bell chain has been linked to a Salmonella outbreak that sickened 68 people in 10 states late last year.

Lawmakers are considering a bid to force President Barack Obama's administration to blacklist Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an effort to thwart Tehran's nuclear capabilities, a congressional aide said on Wednesday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co has agreed to drop almost all of a $710 million claim against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's bankruptcy estate, freeing up more money to be distributed to creditors, Lehman said on Wednesday.

Lawmakers are considering a bid to force President Barack Obama's administration to blacklist Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an effort to thwart Tehran's nuclear capabilities, a congressional aide said on Wednesday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co has agreed to drop almost all of a $710 million claim against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's bankruptcy estate, freeing up more money to be distributed to creditors, Lehman said on Wednesday.

Factory activity rose in China, the United States and Germany in January, and the three manufacturing superpowers drove gains in global output even as Europe struggles with fallout from its festering debt crisis.

GT Advanced Technologies posted quarterly profit above analysts' estimates for the ninth time in a row, partly helped by better performance at its polysilicon segment, but it cut the upper end of its full-year earnings outlook.

Facebook filed on Wednesday to raise a targeted $5 billion in a hotly anticipated initial public offering, setting the stage for Silicon Valley's biggest-ever IPO.

Mort Zuckerman, the venerable real estate developer and media mogul, has a taste for urbanism. He attributed the strong fourth quarter and 2011 for his real estate investment trust Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) to its focus on major cities.

Auto sales rose more than 11 percent in January, a surprisingly robust showing that marked the strongest annualized sales rate for the industry in nearly two-and-a-half years.

Employers hired fewer workers in January than they did in December, showing companies and banks that lend to them remain concerned U.S. economic growth will cool after expanding rapidly in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to a survey of economists.

After the shocking (or not so shocking) news broke that the singer would not be returning to the show, there have been debates over whether she really deserved to leave and why.

A city panel in the U.S. capital voted on Wednesday to repeal a first-in-the-nation Internet gambling law for Washington, D.C., a spokeswoman said.

An advisory committee urged U.S. securities regulators on Wednesday to relax outdated rules that trigger public financial reporting for companies, but it stopped short of backing a new capital-raising strategy known as crowdfunding.

Glitter bombings have swept 2012 GOP presidential primary candidates from Mitt Romney to Newt Gingrich this campaign cycle. Here's videos of all the incidents.

Pfizer, the world's biggest drug company, appeared Wednesday to have escaped negative investor reaction after announcing a recall of birth-control pills, with stock prices fluctuating throughout the trading session before closing up 13 cents to $21.31.

It has been the stuff of science fiction for decades, but the U.S. military announced on Tuesday it is close to developing a virtual reality contact lens to enhance soldiers' vision on the battlefield. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is working with Washington-based company Innovega to develop a system of contact lenses and small wearable glasses giving soldiers a considerable tactical advantage.

Europe's biggest oil company, Royal Dutch Shell is expected to take a hit in its refining and marketing earnings, but could follow the likes of ExxonMobil in posting profit that at least matches analyst expectations thanks to high oil prices.

Stocks extended January's rally on Wednesday after upbeat global manufacturing data boosted sentiment and as Greece neared a long-delayed deal with private creditors.