IBT Staff Reporter

Germany, the only major euro zone member to retain a top-notch credit rating, refused on Monday to consider boosting the bloc's rescue fund, while Greece was under pressure to urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks if it is to avoid an unruly default.

Wikipedia, the popular community-edited online encyclopedia, will black out its English-language site for 24 hours to seek support against proposed U.S. anti-piracy legislation that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said threatens the future of the Internet.

Rating agency Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating of the European Financial Stability Facility, the euro zone's rescue fund, by one notch to AA+ on Monday, three days after it cut the ratings of France and Austria by the same margin.

Three former executives at bankrupt Nortel Networks reached into the cookie jar a decade ago to enrich themselves, prosecutors said, opening a fraud trial that dredged up memories of one of the most spectacular casualties of the 1990's dot-com bubble.

U.S. legislation aimed at curbing online piracy, which had appeared to be on a fast track for approval by Congress, appears likely to be scaled back or jettisoned entirely in the wake of critical comments over the weekend from the White House, people familiar with the matter said.

More than 100 evangelical leaders descended on Brenham, Texas this weekend in search of the elusive anti-Romney candidate around whom conservative Republicans could rally. Once again, they failed. Why?

Hopefully, retailers liked 2011, because 2012 is looking like it will offer more of the same.

BMW on Monday said it has launched a global recall of 235,500 mini vehicles, a step taken by the German auto maker because electronic circuit boards could overheat and cause a vehicle fire.

Wikipedia, the popular community-edited online encyclopedia, will black out its English-language site for 24 hours to seek support against proposed U.S. anti-piracy legislation that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said threatens the future of the Internet.

Olympus Corp should be the easiest of takeover targets: a profitable business with its share price in tatters, its management in utter disgrace and its balance sheet in need of fresh capital. But not in Japan.

Pembina Pipeline Corp (PPL.TO: Quote) agreed on Monday to buy Provident Energy Ltd (PVE.TO: Quote) for C$3.24 billion ($3.16 billion) in an all-stock deal that will create one of Canada's biggest pipeline and natural gas processing companies.

Canadian stocks were slightly higher on Monday, as gains by energy and mining issues offset lower financials, while investors largely shrugged off last week's euro zone ratings downgrades.

Use of microblogging in China quadrupled in 2011 compared with the previous year, with nearly half of all Chinese Internet users now taking to the near-instant service to gather news and spread views, a government Internet think tank said Monday.

Ontario's economy expanded 0.7 percent in the third quarter, reversing a 0.2 percent decline in the second quarter and steering Canada's manufacturing heartland away from another recession.

WestJet Airlines Ltd may launch a short-haul airline as early as next year to serve smaller cities and towns in Canada, a challenge to its main rival Air Canada in a market that analysts say has room for a competitor.

Montreal's Max Pacioretty scored twice as the Canadiens rose to the occasion with a 4-1 victory over the NHL-leading New York Rangers on Sunday.

The Canadian government's withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol is illegal, alleges a suit to be filed in federal court by a law professor and former Canadian MP on Friday.

Twelve people were killed on Monday in Syria where a peace plan monitored by Arab observers has failed to douse a 10-month-old struggle between President Bashar al-Assad and his foes.

European shares and the euro gradually recovered on Monday from early losses triggered by the mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign ratings last week, but they still looked vulnerable amid rising fears of a disorderly Greek debt default.

Silent-era film The Artist and family drama The Descendants were the top film picks at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday in a loose-lipped awards show that even had host Ricky Gervais walking onto the stage with a drink in his hand.

Olympus Corp should be the easiest of takeover targets: a profitable business with its share price in tatters, its management in utter disgrace and its balance sheet in need of fresh capital. But not in Japan.

Online shoe retailer Zappos told customers this weekend that it has been the victim of a cyber attack affecting more than 24 million customer accounts in its database.

Greece's private sector creditors warned on Monday that the Athens government must urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks triggered by unreasonable demands from international lenders if is to avoid a disorderly default.

Greece must urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks triggered by unreasonable demands from its partners, the head of a group of representing its private sector warned on Monday, as Athens raced against the clock to prevent an unruly default.

Rescuers resumed a search of the hulk of a giant cruise liner off the west coast of Italy on Monday after bad weather forced them to halt operations, but hopes were fading of finding more survivors.

Greece must urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks triggered by unreasonable demands from its partners, the head of a group of representing its private sector warned on Monday, as Athens raced against the clock to prevent an unruly default.

Friends and relatives of passengers who were on board a capsized Italian cruise liner carrying more than 4,000 people have turned to social media to search for loved ones and vent their anger and shock at the disaster in which at least six people died.

Bank of America Corp Chairman Chad Holliday on Monday said he supports chief executive officer Brian Moynihan 100 percent.

Top executives at Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext sent a letter to European Commissioners emphasizing the European nature of a combined company, in a bid to salvage their deal after antitrust regulators threatened to block it.