IBT Staff Reporter

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said he had no plans to crack down on the Internet ahead of 2012 elections, seeking to play down concerns over recent hacker attacks on a blogging website.

In an attempt to take up the throne of psychic match-predictor, vacated by the late 'Paul' the octopus, 'Iker 'and 'Iniesta' - two other octopuses have picked Real Madrid to beat Barcelona on Wednesday's Copa Del Rey finals.

AT&T Inc survived the loss of its exclusive U.S. rights to sell the Apple Inc iPhone.

U.S. stocks were poised for a strong open on Wednesday after a raft of solid earnings and outlooks bolstered optimism about the economic recovery.

Spain will sell up to 3.5 billion euros in bonds on Wednesday in an auction that should give clues on whether it can avoid the bailout contagion that has engulfed the much smaller economies of Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Wells Fargo & Co , the fourth-largest U.S. bank, posted a higher quarterly profit as it put aside less money for bad loans.

The widely billed 'biggest match in the world' is set to pan out for the second time in five days, as Barcelona and Real Madrid clash at a neutral venue in the Copa del Rey final.

BHP Billiton , the world's biggest mining house, warned on Wednesday that persistent rains in Australia were delaying a recovery in its coal operations after a devastating March quarter cut production by nearly a fifth.

AT&T Inc's first-quarter subscriber growth weakened as it lost exclusive U.S. rights to sell the Apple Inc iPhone but the impact was not as bad as Wall St feared.

Nasdaq OMX Group , the exchange operator battling to buy out crosstown rival NYSE, showed few signs it was distracted from its core business as it logged record profit on the back of robust derivatives trading.

U.S. stock index futures climbed on Wednesday after solid earnings and outlooks from a trio of major technology companies renewed optimism about corporate profits and the economic recovery.

The United States lacks a credible plan to cut its deficit over the medium term, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist Olivier Blanchard told French daily Le Monde in an interview published on Wednesday.

Foreign companies bidding for public projects in China, valued at $1 trillion a year, face a sharply tilted playing field, a European Union business lobby said Wednesday, citing favoritism and corruption as influencing the award of contracts.

Details on cost cuts and a deal with Microsoft could cheer up investors when Nokia reports quarterly earnings on Thursday, soothing concerns over continuing market share losses.

The Central Intelligence Agency on Wednesday declassified the United States Government's six oldest classified documents, dating from 1917 and 1918.

Police said on Tuesday they were investigating two death threats against 13-year-old Internet sensation Rebecca Black over her low-budget music video Friday.

Customers of Britain's Virgin Media spent record sums in the first quarter, showing a willingness to pay extra for faster broadband speeds and phone services in spite of the tough economic environment.

Gold shot up above $1,500 an ounce on Wednesday for the first time ever as worries over the health of the global economy boosted the metal as a safe haven.

The Department of Energy has been working around the clock to provide whatever assistance we can to the Government of Japan as they work to bring the Fukushima nuclear reactors under control. One unique capability that the Department has recently mobilized to help in this situation is an expertise in robotics.

Spot gold prices breached $1,500 for the first time and silver hit a 31-year high on Wednesday, supported by a weak dollar and concerns over a sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone.

A repeat of a corporate tax holiday that found little success in stimulating the economy in 2005 is still a long-shot to jump-start a stagnant U.S. economy, says a University of Illinois expert in corporate and international taxation.

A secret memo released online by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in its 'Vault' has emerged as proof for the famed landing -- or crash or capture -- of a flying saucer with three dead aliens in Roswell in New Mexico in June 1947.

The wedding of Britain's Prince William to university sweetheart Kate Middleton will be streamed live on the Internet via an official royal channel -- the first time a British royal wedding will be covered in this way.

Roche Holding AG's arthritis and cancer drug, Rituxan, received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat two rare disorders that cause blood vessel inflammation.

Brent crude rose above $122 a barrel on Wednesday, helped by a rebound in equities and a weaker dollar.

Stock index futures pointed to a stronger open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.8 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.5 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.8 percent at 0847 GMT.

Several media outlets have decried the Federal crackdown of online poker in the recent gambling indictment in line with the 2006 UIGEA law.

Power company AES Corp. (NYSE: AES) announced an agreement to acquire smaller rival DPL Inc. (NYSE: DPL) for $3.5 billion, or $30 a share, in cash. The deal is the latest in the wave of consolidation in the power industry, as companies seek to add customers to offset high regulatory barriers and aging power grids.

Strong results from a clutch of technology heavyweights, led by top global chip maker Intel Corp and cloud computing specialist VMware Inc, may give the battered U.S. tech sector a boost.