UNITED STATES

At least 13 brokerages raised their price targets on Apple Inc , a day after its blowout quarterly results, indicating that some on Wall Street expect the stock to gain another 30 percent from already record-high levels.

A U.S. senate committee will consider whether to drop a controversial idea to ban banks from the swaps market in a debate on derivative reform on Wednesday, as efforts to toughen regulation head into the home straight.

AMR Corp , parent of American Airlines, posted a bigger first-quarter loss on Wednesday, saying the weak economy and rising fuel prices represented an obstacle to recovery.

Banks including Wells Fargo & Co reported first-quarter results that showed the loan losses that have plagued the financial sector amid the recession are easing.

U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday after losses in healthcare stocks offset strong gains by Apple Inc and Morgan Stanley after they posted higher-than-expected earnings.

Boeing Co , the world's second-largest plane maker, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, despite making fewer deliveries as the company held down costs at its commercial airplane division.

Amarillo Biosciences, local biotech company has been testing its orally administered interferon in the test to study its efficiency in preventing the flu in 200 people in Western Australia.

Google Inc is in talks to acquire airline IT and services provider ITA Software Inc, Bloomberg reported citing three people familiar with the matter.

AMR Corp , parent of American Airlines, posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday, saying the jump in fuel prices posed an obstacle to recovery, sending shares down as much as 5.5 percent.

U.S. stocks drifted lower on Wednesday on losses by healthcare and energy stocks, offsetting strong gains by blue chips Apple Inc and Morgan Stanley.

Banks including Wells Fargo & Co reported first-quarter results that showed the loan losses that have plagued the financial sector amid the recession are easing.

General Motors Co has a real possibility of launching an initial public offering by the end of the year, Chief Executive Ed Whitacre said on Wednesday.

Uniformed doormen and apartment building workers reached a deal with New York building owners on Wednesday, narrowly averting a strike that would have left residents running elevators, disposing of trash and doing other chores themselves.

As he filled out forms in a re-employment center in the parking lot of his union hall, 61-year-old repairman Albert Hinojosa spoke about his uncertain future after losing a job he held for almost a quarter of a century.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer United Technologies Corp reported quarterly profit that topped Wall Street's expectations helped by lower restructuring costs, while revenue missed analysts' forecasts.

Most consumers think U.S. homes are affordable and the time is ripe to buy as many expect prices to rise in the next year, a new survey showed on Wednesday.

U.S. mortgage applications bounced from three-month lows last week as potential buyers locked in lower borrowing costs before the federal tax credit expires, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

AT&T Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings as strong sales of Apple Inc's iPhone bolstered profitability despite tepid overall revenue growth.

Paulson & Co, the hedge fund linked to civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs Group Inc, moved to head off investor concerns about its role in a deal that has scarred the reputation of the Wall Street bank and overshadowed blow-out quarterly earnings.

Visa Inc said on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy CyberSource Corp , a technology company that processes online payments, in a bid to increase its e-commerce business.

Blue chips rose in early trading on Wednesday boosted by strong results from investment bank Morgan Stanley and Apple, but healthcare stocks weighed on the broader market.