IBT Staff Reporter

The economy grew a bit faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter on slightly firmer consumer spending, further calming fears of a sharp slowdown in growth in early 2012.

The U.S. economy grew a bit faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter on slightly firmer consumer and business spending, which could help to allay fears of a sharp slowdown in growth in early 2012.

Universal Display Corp shares fell 11 percent on Wednesday, after the LED supplier warned payments from a new contract with Samsung Electronics may not come in a steady stream, raising concerns about its over dependence on the Korean company.

Bridgewater Associates, the world's biggest hedge fund, handed clients $13.8 billion last year, catapulting founder Ray Dalio above long-time rivals such as George Soros and John Paulson as the industry's biggest money maker in 2011, research showed.

Costco Wholesale Corp posted a bigger-than-expected increase in quarterly profit as the warehouse club's discounted gasoline prices lured shoppers to its service stations and stores.

The uneven U.S. economic recovery will have to pick up in order to quickly bring down an unacceptably high jobless rate, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.

India's economic growth slowed to 6.1 percent in the three months to December, the weakest annual pace in almost three years, as high interest rates and rising raw material costs constrained investment and manufacturing.

Costco Wholesale Corp posted a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, as rising gasoline prices led more members to fill up at the warehouse club's discounted gas stations and then shop inside.

The economy grew a bit faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter on slightly firmer consumer and business spending, calming fears of a sharp slowdown in growth in early 2012.

Applications for U.S. home mortgage purchases jumped last week as interest rates dipped, though demand for refinancing waned, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Wall Street stocks were set to open slightly higher on Wednesday on stronger-than-forecast U.S. growth data and after European banks borrowed more than a half trillion euros as part of an effort to stabilize the euro zone's financial system.

The Securities and Exchange Commission notified Goldman Sachs Group Inc that it may file a civil case against the bank related to a $1.3 billion offering of subprime mortgage securities, Goldman said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Banks grabbed 530 billion euros at the European Central Bank's second offering of cheap three-year funds on Wednesday, fuelling expectations that credit will flow to businesses and borrowing costs will ease for governments hit by the euro zone crisis.

French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen's alliance talks with General Motors may yet fail as the U.S. automaker hesitates over criticism from investors, a source with knowledge of the discussions said.

The economy grew a bit faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter on slightly firmer consumer and business spending, which could help to allay fears of a sharp slowdown in growth in early 2012.

There is a good chance young people growing up in today's always-wired world will eventually become bright, nimble decision makers - if they don't wind up intellectual lightweights unable to concentrate long enough to chew over a good book.

The economy grew a bit faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter on slightly firmer consumer and business spending, which could help to allay fears of a sharp slowdown in growth in early 2012.

A planned referendum in Ireland and a German court ruling cast new uncertainty on Tuesday over efforts to overcome the euro zone's debt crisis, just when a flood of central bank money appeared to be calming financial markets.

Former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, who lent his name to historic restrictions on banks' financial market trading, says regulators should not back down in imposing the curbs and that additional reforms to markets are necessary.

China will soon publish precise definitions of what constitutes insider trading that would make it easier to prosecute and punish illegal traders, the New Century magazine reported on its website, citing sources with knowledge of the situation.

Stock index futures edged up on Wednesday after European banks absorbed more than half a trillion euros as part of an effort to stabilize the euro zone's financial system.

Greece has invited bids for state-owned gas company DEPA, as it moves ahead with a privatization program targeted to raise 19 billion euros ($25.5 billion) by 2015.

Banks took 530 billion euros at the European Central Bank's second-ever offering of 3-year funding on Wednesday, essentially in line with market expectations.

Lawyers for Apple Inc. argued for its right to use the iPad trademark in China on Wednesday, as a higher court began a crucial hearing that could result in sales of the wildly popular tablet computer being halted throughout the Chinese mainland.

Stock index futures edged up on Wednesday after European banks absorbed more than half a trillion euros as part of an effort to stabilize the euro zone's financial system.

French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen's alliance talks with General Motors may yet fail as the U.S. automaker hesitates over criticism from investors, a source with knowledge of the discussions said.

Staples Inc , the largest U.S. office supply chain, reported a quarterly profit that narrowly beat analysts' estimates, helped by a slight increase in customer traffic at its North American business.

The founder of the online file-sharing site Megaupload.com has asked a New Zealand court to free nearly a quarter of a million dollars in frozen assets to pay for living expenses, including nannies and bodyguards, as a bid by the United States to put him back behind bars was thrown out of court on Wednesday.

France's data protection regulator will launch an official investigation into Google's new privacy policy and said that its preliminary view was that it did not conform with European laws on protecting individuals' privacy.