IBT Staff Reporter

Netflix, the DVD rental and online video service, is breaking away from its traditional role just as a licensor of movies and TV shows by negotiating with two of Hollywood's biggest names for an original show.

Zediva Inc, a startup, said it has launched a new service that lets customers watch movies over the Web the same day they are released on DVD, avoiding the usual delays required by film studios.

A French Gothic townhouse in Manhattan was put on the market at $90 million last Friday.

Producer prices surged in February at their fastest pace in 1-1/2 years, data showed on Wednesday, a day after the Federal Reserve said it had a watchful eye on inflation pressures it expects to subside.

When they finally completed their new control tower last November, officials at University Park Airport hoped it would provide a needed safety upgrade.

Mergers sweeping financial exchanges are in part an unintended consequence of global financial regulatory reforms, the head of IntercontinentalExchange Inc said on Wednesday .

A rare Wall Street downgrade stoked fears that Apple Inc's torrid pace of growth is slowing, sending shares in the world's largest technology company sliding for the second straight day.

Chelsea will host FC Copenhagen in the second-leg of the Champions League last-16 round tie on Wednesday, knowing that even a 1-0 loss wouldn't halt their progress into the quarter-finals.

Japan's devastating earthquake and deepening nuclear crisis could result in losses of up to $200 billion for the world's third largest economy but the global impact remains hard to gauge five days after a massive tsunami battered the northeast coast.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc added another two stores to its list of planned locations in Chicago and said it was on pace to meet its goal of creating 10,000 jobs in that city by 2015.

Stocks slumped more than 2 percent on Wednesday in a third day of selling resulting from Japan's crisis, and analysts saw further market volatility

Portugal's government blamed higher rates paid at a debt auction on Wednesday on the opposition's refusal to back its latest austerity plans, warning a political standoff could force it to seek a bailout.

Four Morgan Stanley Smith Barney branch managers left in the past few days, part of an exodus that began when Morgan Stanley gained control of Citigroup's Smith Barney brokerage arm in 2009 and began consolidating branches.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been handed a five match suspension and a £30,000 fine for the comments he made about referee Martin Atkinson after his side's 2-1 loss at Chelsea earlier this month.

Indian security agencies are not satisfied with a plan offered by Research In Motion for them to have access to data on its BlackBerry Messenger services, junior Telecoms Minister Sachin Pilot told parliament on Wednesday.

Producer prices surged in February at their fastest pace in 1-1/2 years, data showed on Wednesday, a day after the Federal Reserve said it had a watchful eye on inflation pressures it expects to subside.

Top mobile telecom equipment makers joined automakers in warning of a damaging supply squeeze as the impact of Japan's devastating earthquake spreads, adding to fears for a sector hampered by shortages.

Yuri Milner, who has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Facebook, Zynga and Groupon, said on Wednesday exits by founders of companies should be a cue for investors to do the same.

Oil rose 2 percent on Wednesday as escalating violence in the Middle East raised concerns about crude supplies, countering the wave of risk aversion sparked earlier this week by Japan's nuclear crisis.

Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc computer programer Sergey Aleynikov has lost his bid to reverse his December conviction for stealing the Wall Street bank's source code.

Producer prices surged in February at their fastest pace in just over 1-1/2 years, pointing to a build-up in pipeline inflation pressures from soaring food and energy costs.

U.S. stocks sank for a third day on Wednesday as worries about Japan's nuclear crisis escalated, and analysts saw more volatility ahead for the market.

The Gold Price ticked higher in London trade on Wednesday, holding above yesterday's 4-week lows to reach $1400 per ounce, as a rally in Japanese shares failed to prevent further losses in global stock markets.

Social-networking sites such as Facebook, or search engines such as Google, may face court action if they fail to obey planned EU data privacy rules, European Union justice chief Viviane Reding said on Wednesday.

Housing starts posted their biggest decline in 27 years in February while building permits dropped to their lowest level on record, suggesting the beleaguered real estate sector has yet to rebound from its deepest slump in modern history.

Producer prices rose by 1.6 percent in February, as energy and consumer goods saw a strong increase, suggesting building inflationary pressures in the economy.

Oil prices jumped on Wednesday due to escalating violence in the Middle East and worries about oil supply from the region but retreated later on fears Japan's nuclear crisis was spinning out of control.

Netflix is reportedly set to distribute an original series starring Kevin Spacey and directed by David Fincher.

Travel today, from luggage to laptop, is increasingly high-tech. Yet every hotel room hosts a costly anachronism: a traditional telephone.