IBT Staff Reporter

A senator attacked on Wednesday an industry-backed fund that covers claims for investors of failed brokerages, saying the fund was failing to help people who had been victimized by convicted financier Allen Stanford's $7 billion Ponzi scheme.

Today's coda for investing in the market calls for rapid-fire trading and an eye for the next hot sector. The investing heroes in this world are hedge funds such as Renaissance Technologies, which made founder James Simons a billionaire with its computer-driven, high turnover trading.

Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras has not ruled out an increase in the price of gasoline if justified, Chief Executive Maria das Gracas Foster said on Wednesday.

Major holders of Greek bonds have pledged to sign up for the country's bond swap, making it increasingly likely that the deal will go through.

Spain is not ready to give up its seat on the Executive Board of the European Central Bank after its current representative leaves the institution in May, a spokeswoman for the Spanish economy ministry said on Wednesday.

Apple Inc took the wraps off a faster 4G-equipped iPad on Wednesday, hoping the latest version of its tablet can safeguard its dominance as rivals from Amazon to Samsung pile into the market.

Apple Inc took the wraps off a faster 4G-equipped iPad on Wednesday, hoping the latest version of its tablet can safeguard its dominance as rivals from Amazon to Samsung pile into the market.

AMR Corp , the bankrupt parent of American Airlines, proposed a plan to freeze the pensions covering many of its workers rather than terminating them and leaving them to government insurers, which in many cases would result in lower payouts.

Forget austerity in the supercar zone at the Geneva Auto Show.

Apple Inc is expected to take the wraps off a faster 4G-equipped iPad on Wednesday, hoping the latest version of its tablet can safeguard its dominance as rivals from Amazon to Samsung pile into the market.

Wynn Resorts Ltd said it would hold a special meeting of shareholders to remove Kazuo Okada from its board, less than two weeks after the Japanese billionaire was ousted as director of the company's Macau unit.

AMR Corp, the bankrupt parent of American Airlines, on Wednesday proposed a plan to freeze pensions covering many of its workers, retreating from an earlier proposal to terminate them and leave them to government insurers, which could result in lower payouts.

The head of Qatar Airways, often an outspoken critic of Airbus and Boeing , expressed confidence on Wednesday that the two plane makers would resolve recent production problems.

Europe's carmakers, desperate to beat the overcapacity that hurts profits and leaves them vulnerable to overseas competitors, want the region's leaders to accept they must close plants and make politically toxic job cuts to survive.

Forbes magazine is due to release its annual list of the world's billionaires around midday on Wednesday, with Mexico's Carlos Slim poised to retain the top spot and attention focused on how far up the list Facebook's IPO has catapulted Mark Zuckerberg.

Retailers like Children's Place Retail Stores Inc and Brown Shoe Co Inc are struggling to protect their margins as they continue to discount heavily to drive sales, resulting in weak quarterly profit reports and bleak forecasts.

Stocks rose on Wednesday, a day after the worst selloff in three months for Wall Street, as a report showed the U.S. private sector added more jobs than expected last month.

Kuwait's low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways has cut the number of flights it operates in and out of Syria because turmoil in the country is making it difficult to operate a full service.

The Italian branch of the hackers group Anonymous took down the Vatican's website on Wednesday, saying it was an attack on the Roman Catholic Church's scandals and conservative doctrine.

The Nasdaq rose 1 percent on Wednesday a day after stocks suffered their worst selloff in three months as a report showed the U.S. private sector added more jobs than expected last month.

Apple Inc is betting a 4G-equipped iPad will tempt more U.S. consumers to pay extra to watch high-quality video on the go, and in turn, give Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc a revenue boost.

Starbucks Corp , the world's biggest coffee chain, is hoping to boost growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by opening so-called concept stores that tailor products and cafe interiors to local tastes, a senior manager told Reuters.

The controversial practice of banks forcing expensive homeowners insurance on borrowers could come to an end after Fannie Mae told lenders it would seek to oversee such policies itself.

U.S. companies increased their hiring in February, shoring up expectations that the labor market recovery has moved into a higher gear.

Wall Street stocks bounced back on Wednesday, a day after its worst selloff in three months, as a report showed the U.S. private sector added more jobs than expected last month.

General Electric Co expects sales to rise 20 percent to 25 percent this year in Australia and other resource-rich countries from Latin America to the Middle East, as they are big buyers of its heavy industrial equipment.

Stocks edged higher on Wednesday, a day after Wall Street suffered its worst selloff in three months and as a report showed the private sector added more jobs than expected.

The pace of job creation by U.S. private employers accelerated more than expected in February, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

The British pound will remain steady against the euro over the next year, perhaps more resilient but still tied to the euro zone's fortunes, according to a Reuters poll of foreign exchange analysts who mostly stuck to their views from one month ago.