UNITED STATES

India's largest private air carrier Jet Airways has begun operating flights to the United States as well as the continental Europe, promising its passengers a taste of 'premium class services.'

In just eight words, the Federal Reserve waded deeper into a touchy debate over whether consumer spending can stand up to a housing market downturn.

The yen fell across the board on Wednesday after a Federal Reserve statement cooled expectations for a near-term U.S. interest rate cut and boosted stocks and other riskier assets.

Top executives at the world's largest companies expect a rise in demergers over the next year as shareholders pressure companies to focus on core activities and unlock value, legal firm Allen & Overy said on Wednesday.

Toyota Motor Corp. expects industrywide U.S. auto sales to slow for the second straight year in 2007, with a rebound beginning in 2008, the company's U.S. sales chief said on Wednesday.

Lenovo Group Ltd., the world's No. 3 maker of personal computers, wants to take over a mid-tier PC manufacturer valued at about $800 million to bolster a barely profitable European arm.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc said on Wednesday that it expected to report a decline in quarterly home-building revenue as the U.S. housing crisis deepened.

Cell phone giant Vodafone Group Plc said on Wednesday it had decided not to sell part of its 45 percent stake in fast-growing U.S. cell phone joint venture Verizon Wireless.

Mortgage applications rose for the first time in three weeks as interest rates fell sharply and demand surged for home purchase and refinance loans, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Tyco Electronics Ltd. said on Wednesday it lost almost $1.4 billion in its initial quarter as a stand-alone company, reflecting the settlement of lawsuits against former parent Tyco International Ltd. and other costs.

Sprint Nextel Corp posted a lower quarterly profit on Wednesday but beat Wall Street expectations as the No. 3 U.S. mobile phone service added customers, sending its shares up more than 3 percent.

Productivity climbed at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter and has gained only slightly over the past year, keeping alive the risk that rising wages could push up inflation.

Japan's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by U.S. hedge fund Steel Partners on Tuesday to prevent Worcester sauce maker Bull-Dog from invoking anti-takeover measures.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday held benchmark U.S. interest rates steady and said that while tightening credit conditions had increased downside risks facing the economy, inflation was still its main concern. The decision by the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee kept the overnight federal funds rate at 5.25 percent, the level it hit in June 2006 after 17 straight quarter-percentage point increases.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to hold overnight interest rates steady and reaffirm concerns about inflation at its meeting on Tuesday, but may also acknowledge emerging signs of economic weakness. Fed policy makers began meeting this morning against a backdrop of unsettled financial markets and are expected to announce their decision on interest rates at 2:15 EDT.

As private insurers shift the payment burden to patients, U.S. hospitals increasingly find themselves in the undesirable role of debt collector.

Facing minimum-wage violation accusations, it will give its Chinese employees their first across-the-board pay rise.

Sourcing of products from India by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. could rise to billions of dollars annually in coming years once the U.S. retailer starts operations there, the firm's country president said on Tuesday.

Oil steadied on Tuesday after the previous session's near 5 percent slide, supported by a rebound in equity markets and expectations for a fifth weekly drop in U.S. crude inventories.

The dollar crept lower against the yen on Tuesday as investors waited for a Federal Reserve statement that will be scrutinized for any signs of a shift in the central bank's vigilant stance on inflation.

Stocks rose on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve said it still saw moderate economic growth ahead even though credit conditions have tightened for some consumers and businesses.