IBT Staff Reporter

NBC's new singing competition 'The Voice' garners mixed response. While the viewers poured praises on show and judges online, the critics seem to be far from impressed.

Telecoms gear maker Ericsson blasted past first-quarter core profit expectations thanks to surging mobile broadband equipment sales, and said it hoped to have post-Japan quake supply problems ironed out by the end of the third quarter.

American Pharmacies, a member-owned independent pharmacy cooperative based in Texas, is taking on Humana and Walmart via the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for discriminating against some pharmacies in Humana’s new Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP).

World number two truck maker Volvo AB posted a bigger-than-expected rise in first-quarter earnings on Wednesday and raised its forecast for truck markets in both Europe and North America.

Manchester United had the easiest Champions League semifinal against Schalke 04 as the English leaders won 2-0 at the Veltins-Arena and will take the lead into the second leg at Old Trafford next week.

The U.S. dollar plumbed a near 3-year low against other major currencies on Wednesday before a Federal Reserve decision, which is expected to reinforce an ultra-easy policy stance and drive more capital to buoyant emerging Asian stock markets.

The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) issued the following statement in response to today's ruling by Federal District Court in the Central District of California, overturning California Senate Bill 990 (SB 990), a state law governing the cleanup of Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a former federal government rocket engine and energy testing facility in southern California:

The boy-band supergroup New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys (NKOTBSB) Tuesday stopped over at Dancing With The Stars before hitting the road for the much-awaited tour set to kick start June 2 in Connecticut.

China's economy may grow by 9.6 percent in the second quarter of 2011, a government think tank said in a report on Wednesday, keeping pace with first quarter growth.

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor has announced a safety recall of 270,000 units of two vehicle models sold in the United States and Canada due to a possible problem with steering control.

Toyota Motors USA is recalling approximately 51,000 Tundra trucks (2011 model year) to inspect the rear drive shaft, the carmaker said in a statement on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, the IAEA provided the following information on the current status of nuclear safety in Japan:

Johnson & Johnson is to buy Swiss medical devices maker Synthes Inc in a deal worth $21.3 billion, its largest ever buy, boosting its orthopedics franchise and reshaping the medical technology industry.

Wall Street expects Boeing Co to report a first-quarter profit in line with year-ago results on Wednesday, while investors will be on alert for confirmation that the long-delayed 787 Dreamliner is finally on schedule.

Sina Corp, China's largest Internet portal, has no immediate plans to list its microblog operations, its chief said on Wednesday.

China's rise as a manufacturing power has benefited American factory owners in at least one way.

America's global dominance of the private equity industry will likely remain for only a handful more years, as other geographies grow stronger and rival firms around the world flex their muscles, Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein predicted on Tuesday.

China's economy may grow by 9.6 percent in the second quarter of 2011, a government think tank said in a report on Wednesday, keeping pace with first quarter growth.

America's global dominance of the private equity industry will likely remain for only a handful more years, as other geographies grow stronger and rival firms around the world flex their muscles, Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein predicted on Tuesday.

Japanese retail sales fell in March at the fastest annual pace since 1998 and could remain weak for some time as last month's earthquake, radiation leaks from a damaged nuclear reactor and fears of electricity shortages weigh on consumer sentiment.

News Corp is expected to receive bids for Myspace by the end of this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Nasdaq OMX Group and IntercontinentalExchange Inc appealed directly to NYSE Euronext stockholders on Tuesday, asking them to press the Big Board's directors to sit down to talk about their joint bid.

An authorized person broke into Sony's PlayStation video game online network and stole names, addresses and possibly credit card data belonging to 77 million user accounts in what could be one of the largest-ever Internet security breaches.

The U.S. dollar plumbed a near 3-year low against other major currencies on Wednesday before a Federal Reserve decision where it is expected to reinforce its ultra-easy policy stance while stocks in Asia's developed markets rose, tracking a strong close on Wall Street.

First quarter results from Ericsson look set to benefit from a recovery in the global network gear market that could help soften any impact on its supply chain from the earthquake in Japan.

Amazon.com gave a confident revenue forecast that suggested its aggressive expansion into new businesses is paying off, soothing concerns about its slimmed-down profit margin.

The Japan disaster and aftermath are cutting into the sales and profits of U.S. companies that serve Japanese consumers, from Coca Cola to Coach Inc and 3M Co , even though shoppers are showing some resilience.

BP Plc is expected to post the weakest rise in first-quarter profits among big oil companies on Wednesday, after it was forced to sell assets to pay for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Ford Motor Co reported its best first-quarter profit since 1998 as higher prices for redesigned vehicles including its small Fiesta offset pressure from spiking commodity and oil prices.