UNITED STATES

With anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks, and social media platforms Twitter and Facebook in the running, Internet dominates the race for Nobel Peace Prize 2011.

Shareholders of two of the firms in a consortium buying U.S. insurer AIG's Taiwan unit approved the $2.16 billion bid on Wednesday, setting the scene for what is expected to be a tough battle with regulators.

China and Hong Kong shares were lower by midday Wednesday as market players preferred to cut risk after escalating political tensions in the Middle East prompted a pull-back on Wall Street and in other Asian markets.

The United Nations General Assembly suspended Libya from the Human Rights Council, expressing its deep concern over the killings of hundreds of anti-government protesters in the country.

Costco Wholesale Corp posted a 16 percent jump in quarterly profit, boosted by strong sales during the holiday season and higher gasoline prices.

A former partner of D.E. Shaw and an ex-Goldman Sachs (GS.N) partner are setting up a new firm to raise about $500 million for a China-focused private equity fund to join the growing competition for deals in the world's No.2 economy, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

U.S. market regulator said former Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Procter & Gamble Co board member Rajat Gupta tipped Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam in phone calls about confidential company information. Gupta's lawyer said the allegations are baseless.

Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc director Rajat Gupta leaked secret details to Galleon Group hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam about Warren Buffett's plan to invest $5 billion in the Wall Street bank at the height of the financial crisis, a U.S. securities regulator charged.

A Northern California hedge fund manager faces one count of wire fraud for improperly diverting more than $12 million, but that charge will be dismissed after three years provided he fulfills an agreement with U.S. prosecutors, according to a court filing.

The top two U.S. defense officials have not confirmed if the Libyan government has been firing on its own people from aircraft.

Yahoo Inc is in advanced talks to exit its joint venture in Japan with SoftBank Corp, a move that could lead it to focus on reaching a decision on its China assets.

Sands China (1928.HK), the Macau-based casino operator run by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, driven by surging demand in the world's largest gaming market.

China, the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, wants rich nations to vow bigger cuts to emissions as part of a new international deal on fighting global warming, Beijing's top climate negotiator said on Tuesday.

China may have more potential than ever to influence U.S. debt prices after data showed the country owns more than a $1 trillion in Treasuries, almost a third more than previously thought.

With warships and missiles, Russia is flexing its muscles in the Far East in a bid to defend its position as an Asian power against China's growing might.

Bailed-out insurer American International Group will sell off its stake in MetLife Inc months earlier than expected, accelerating its repayment of the U.S. government and giving MetLife more control of what had been an overhang for its shares.

The Senate voted on Tuesday to strip controversial provisions out of a bipartisan bill to revamp the U.S. patent system and clear a years long backlog of patent applications.

Financial penalties extracted from large banks over their mortgage servicing practices may be used for loan modifications, a top Obama administration official said on Monday.

Non-Libyan Africans are reportedly becoming the target of revenge killings in Libya, owing to the perception that foreigners form a large part of Moammar Gaddafi’s mercenary force paid to kill anti-government protesters,

Spot gold rallied to a record of $1,432.10 an ounce, surpassing its previous record of $1,430.95 set on December 7, as chaos in Libya and political turmoil in the Arab world prompted safe-haven buying and soaring oil prices boosted bullion's inflation hedge appeal.

The next government auction of valuable wireless spectrum in Canada is still at least a year and a half away, but the fight among telecom companies over how the auction should be run is already in full swing.