NEW YORK

The New York Knicks have not won a championship in nearly 40 years but they are the most valuable team in the National Basketball Association with an estimated worth of $655 million, according to latest Forbes valuations of the NBA's 30 teams.

New York City finally takes a snow day after residents woke up to a foot of snow.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Wednesday are: AMB Property, Teradyne, ProLogis, Astoria Financial and DCT Industrial Trust. The top after-market NYSE losers on Wednesday are: Quantum Corp, Murphy Oil, Motorola, Robert Half International and LDK Solar.

The Wine Enthusiast Magazine recognized Rhône Valley, a famous wine producing region in southeastern France, as the “2010 Wine Region of the Year” award at Wine Star Awards held in New York recently.

Two former Galleon Group portfolio managers admitted to charges of insider trading on confidential company information, strengthening the government's case against Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam a month before his trial

NBA stars Shaquille O'Neal and Lamar Odom have been named in a federal class-action lawsuit against Power Balance, makers of faux new age bracelets.

The price of Gold Bullion rallied from its lowest level since 28th Oct. early in London on Wednesday, but remained nearly $100 per ounce off Dec.'s all-time highs in what dealers called very quiet trade ahead of today's US Federal Reserve announcement on monetary policy.

The National Weather Service in Upton has issued a winter storm warning for portions of northeast New Jersey, New York City and Long Island.

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, who played a vital role in the 1998 al Qaeda bomb attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people including 12 Americans and wounded thousands of others, has been sentenced to life by a Manhattan federal court.

Both Bush and Clinton Adminstrations were at fault, as well as former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, as well as former Treasury chief Henry Paulson, says inquiry

The companies that reported earnings before the markets open on Wednesday are: Boeing, ConocoPhillips, Abbott, General Dynamics, United Technologies, Southern Co., Hess, Xerox, Rockwell Automation and Wellpoint.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Wednesday are: Western Digital, AK Steel Holding, Salesforce.com, United States Steel, Micron Technology, CA, Boeing, Xerox and Yahoo.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Tuesday are: W.W. Grainger, DeVry, Navios Maritime, Fifth Street Finance and Navistar International. The top after-market NYSE losers on Tuesday are: WMS Industries, Elan Corp, Swift Transportation, Genpact and Ennis.

Rise in accidents stemming from pedestrian distraction has prompted renewed call for iPod bill. New York State Senator Carl Kruger has re-introduced legislation making it illegal to use an iPod, cell phone, Blackberry or any other electronic device while crossing the street.

Brazilian beef processor JBS has made a verbal buyout offer for Sara Lee Corp and is expected to submit a written proposal in the next 24 hours, two sources familiar with the situation said.

The Gold reserves of the Russian central bank grew by 280 tons over the last 2 years. And the bank will continue with a similar speed by buying at least 100 tons every year, deputy chairman Georgy Luntovsky told reporters now.

Investor interest in derivatives-based strategies remains cold, as the financial bailout in 2008 and the Dodd-Graham Financial Overhaul Act has kept investors scared.

In what is being billed as the biggest crime bust in history, the FBI have arrested 119 Mafia suspects and have charged nearly 130 people connected to different crimes ranging from murder and drug trafficking to extortion, gambling, loan-sharking and prostitution.

A top antitrust partner at Howrey is leaving the law firm, adding to the growing number of top lawyers who have quit the firm in recent months.

American Bar Association (ABA) president Stephen N. Zack has strongly condemned the unfair trial and sentencing of an Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.

A New York federal judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit that was seeking to force Philip Morris USA Inc. to pay for medical monitoring program for Marlboro smokers.