IBT Staff Reporter

Germany and France clashed on Wednesday over whether the ECB should take bolder steps to stem the euro zone debt crisis, with Chancellor Angela Merkel issuing one of her starkest warnings yet against fiddling with the central bank's strict inflation-fighting mandate.

A U.S. court awarded DuPont $920.3 million in damages on Tuesday, ruling that South Korea's Kolon Industries Inc <120110.KS> violated trade secrets for a fiber used to make Kevlar bulletproof vests, Kolon said on Wednesday.

Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc, producer of hit movies such as Kung Fu Panda, is in talks to set up a joint venture studio in Shanghai as early as January next year to produce animation and design theme parks, Caijing Magazine reported, quoting government sources.

Ron Paul, R-Texas, a libertarian congressman, has gained popularity recently among likely Republican voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. Here are his positions on the issues.

Stock index futures pointed to a weaker open for equities on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones and for the Nasdaq 100 down 0.5 to 0.8 percent.

China's factory sector shrank the most in 32 months in November on signs of domestic economic weakness, a preliminary PMI survey showed, reviving worries that China may be slipping toward a hard landing and fuelling fears of a global recession.

Michael Woodford, whose ouster as CEO of Olympus Corp <7733.T> a month ago spurred revelations of accounting tricks at the camera and endoscope maker, said Wednesday he believed the company's shares should not be delisted but that it needed new management.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected on Wednesday criticism of the ECB for not taking bolder steps to stem the euro zone debt crisis and made clear the next tranche of aid for Greece could not be paid out unless big parties in the country committed in writing to back austerity.

Former Olympus Corp CEO Michael Woodford said on Wednesday that Tokyo police were best able to get to the truth behind one of Japan's biggest accounting scandals, as speculation mounts of possible links to organised crime.

Stock index futures pointed to a weaker open for equities on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones and for the Nasdaq 100 down 0.5 to 0.8 percent.

World stocks hit their lowest in six weeks on Wednesday and crude prices fell after and manufacturing in regional heavyweight Germany contracted for a second straight month in November, and at a faster rate, as export demand slumped.

S&P stock futures extended losses to more than 1 percent after a key gauge of Chinese manufacturing activity slumped to its weakest level in nearly three years.

All those jeers Michelle Obama endured at the Ford 400 in Miami Sunday were probably music to the ears of right-wing commentator Rush Limbaugh, who argued on his radio show Monday that NASCAR fans in attendance were apparently fed up with the first family's uppity-ism.

Asian shares dropped more than 2 percent and U.S. index futures and oil also fell on Wednesday after a private survey showed China's factory sector shrank the most in 32 months and U.S. growth data was revised downwards, stoking fears about the faltering global economy.

Real Madrid confirmed top-spot in their Uefa Champions League Group D with a 6-2 cruise over beleaguered Dinamo Zagreb.

Merck & Co will pay roughly $950 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it promoted the painkiller Vioxx for an unapproved use, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Chinese factories battled with their weakest activity in 32 months in November, a preliminary purchasing managers' survey showed, reviving worries that China may be skidding toward an economic hard landing and compounding global recession fears.

Manchester United will have to avoid defeat against FC Basel to qualify, after they were held 2-2 at Old Trafford by Benfica in the Uefa Champions League.

Naples witnessed a thriller as Napoli secured a 2-1 win over Manchester City, leaving the English side on the brink of elimination from the Uefa Champions League.

WASHINGTON (TheWrap.com) - The Stop Online Piracy Act might be stopped before it ever gets online, as yet another influential voice has come out against it.

Singapore Press Holdings , which has a near monopoly of newspaper publishing in the city-state, said on Wednesday it filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Yahoo Inc, alleging the internet giant reproduced news from its newspapers without permission.

After President Barack Obama's commitment this month to a transpacific free trade agreement, business leaders in Europe and United States are asking for a similar initiative across the North Atlantic to spur economic growth and create jobs.

Former customers of MF Global Holdings Ltd drew new hope for a quicker return of frozen funds on Tuesday, as the bankruptcy trustee secured more assets from a Chicago bank and the CME Group Inc expanded a financial guarantee.

The online holiday shopping season got off to a solid start, according to data released on Tuesday by ComScore Inc.

A U.S. judge granted Netflix's bid to resolve all claims in its favor before trial in an antitrust class action, in which plaintiffs had sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

A U.S. judge granted Netflix's bid to resolve all claims in its favor before trial in an antitrust class action, in which plaintiffs had sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

Former customers of MF Global Holdings Ltd got some good news on Tuesday, as the bankruptcy trustee secured more assets and the CME Group Inc expanded a guarantee to speed the return of frozen funds.

U.S. S&P stock futures extended losses to more than 1 percent early on Wednesday after a key gauge of Chinese manufacturing activity slumped to its weakest level in nearly three years.

Bonus season could come early this year for employees who are paid on commissions, payroll servicers said on Tuesday, if Congress fails to extend the Obama administration's payroll tax cuts beyond 2011.