IBT Staff Reporter

Applications for refinancing on home mortgages jumped last week, even as demand for new home purchases dried up, an industry group said on Wednesday.

EU antitrust regulators accepted concessions offered by International Business Machines Corp to end an antitrust investigation and avert a possible fine, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

The Internet must be subject to reasonable regulation, the head of Russia's Security Council said in remarks published on Wednesday, a fresh sign of Kremlin concern about the use of social networks to promote anti-government protests.

Europe's no pain no gain attitude to solving its sovereign crisis risks exacerbating the bloc's problems, choking off the very growth needed to raise the money to pay down the debt.

Stock index futures fell in light Wednesday trading, pressured by a decline in the euro and by rising Italian bond yields as market anxiety over Europe persisted.

Stock index futures fell in light Wednesday trading, pressured by a decline in the euro and by rising Italian bond yields.

Stock markets and the euro fell on Wednesday, worried by record high borrowing costs for Italy and the Federal Reserve's decision to do nothing new to prop up growth despite warning Europe's debt crisis could hurt the U.S. economy.

Italian government bond yields eased on Wednesday after the country sold 3 billion euros of five-year debt in the first longer-term auction since the European Union took steps towards greater fiscal integration last week.

Italy paid a euro era record yield of 6.47 percent to sell five-year paper at its first auction of longer-term debt after the EU moved towards greater fiscal integration at last week's summit, but failed to convince markets it can solve the debt crisis.

China pledged to guarantee growth in the face of an extremely grim outlook for the global economy in 2012, rounding off its annual policy-setting conference on Wednesday with a series of commitments to deliver economic stability.

The looming new year may well bring as much financial turbulence as tumultuous 2011 but global investors reckon panic is no longer an option and just protecting your money will require taking on at least some risk.

The euro hit an 11-month low against the dollar and stocks eased on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve warned Europe's sovereign debt crisis could hurt the U.S. economy but failed to signal fresh action to stimulate growth.

Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp ironed out its crooked accounts on Wednesday, unwinding a 13-year fraud to reveal a $1.1 billion dent in its balance sheet and igniting speculation it would need to merge or sell assets to repair its finances.

Online gaming firm Nexon Co slipped on its trading debut on Wednesday following a $1.2 billion IPO, Japan's biggest this year, and may signal a bumpy ride for U.S.-based rival Zynga, which debuts on Nasdaq later this week.

Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp ironed out its crooked accounts Wednesday, unwinding a 13-year fraud to reveal a $655 million dent in its balance sheet and igniting speculation that it would need to merge or sell assets to repair its finances.

China pledged to guarantee growth in the face of an extremely grim outlook for the global economy in 2012, as its annual policy-setting conference closed on Wednesday with a series of commitments to deliver economic stability.

Most Wall Street economists expect the Federal Reserve will undertake another major economic stimulus program, even though the U.S. central bank did not announce any new action at its policy meeting on Tuesday, according to a Reuters poll.

Asian shares drifted lower and the euro idled near an 11-month low on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve failed to take any new steps to stimulate growth and offset the chilling effects of Europe's still-unresolved sovereign debt crisis.

Asian shares drifted lower and the euro idled near an 11-month low on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve failed to take any new steps to stimulate growth and offset the chilling effects of Europe's still-unresolved sovereign debt crisis.

Striking workers at Freeport Indonesia will return to work on Saturday after agreeing to a pay deal to end a three-month dispute that has paralyzed output at the world's second-biggest copper mine, a union official said on Wednesday.

HTC Corp, the world's No.4 smartphone maker, said on Wednesday that a U.S. court has further postponed a final ruling on its lawsuit against Apple Inc, which is seeking a ban on sales of HTC devices in the U.S. market.

China will maintain prudent monetary and proactive fiscal policies in 2012, the official Xinhua news agency said as the country's top economic policy-setting conference closed its annual meeting on Wednesday.

Online gaming firm Nexon Co, an Asian rival to U.S.-based Zynga, slipped lower on its first morning of trading on Wednesday, following its $1.2 billion IPO, Japan's biggest this year.

HTC Corp, the world's No.4 smartphone maker, said on Wednesday that a U.S. court has further postponed a final ruling on its lawsuit against Apple Inc.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a class-action lawsuit against Oracle Corp, basing its ruling on a state court decision that employers in California must pay nonresident workers for overtime work performed in the state.

Online gaming firm Nexon Co, a fast-growing Asian rival to U.S.-based Zynga, opened up slightly at 1,307 yen on its Tokyo trading debut on Wednesday, following its $1.2 billion IPO, Japan's biggest this year.

Ousted Olympus CEO Michael Woodford, who is campaigning to regain his old job at the disgraced Japanese company, said on Wednesday that he wanted no part in breaking up the firm, now struggling to survive a massive accounting scandal.

Three executives in a joint venture of Hitachi Ltd <6501.T> and LG Electronics <066570.KS> have agreed to plead guilty and serve several months in prison for conspiring to fix the prices of optical disk drives, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Morgan Stanley agreed to give up insurance claims against MBIA Inc in exchange for a $1.1 billion payment from the ailing insurer, ending a two-year legal fight over guarantees on mortgage bonds.