IBT Staff Reporter

Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton once offered to trade intelligence with Washington on China, its most important market, an Australian newspaper said on Tuesday, citing leaked U.S. cables obtained from WikiLeaks.

President Barack Obama revived earlier proposals to raise tens of billions of dollars by cutting tax breaks enjoyed by America's biggest companies, ideas that have floundered in Congress for several years.

President Barack Obama on Monday proposed an ambitious long-term transport spending plan in his 2012 budget as a way to boost U.S. economic competitiveness and spur job growth.

A court in Ecuador's Amazon told Chevron Corp on Monday to pay $8.6 billion in environmental damages, but the U.S. oil company vowed to fight on in a lawsuit seen as a global test case.

FedEx Corp cut its earnings forecast for the current quarter, citing disruption from winter storms in the United States and Europe and higher fuel prices, sending shares lower in post-market trading.

Vimpelcom Chief Executive Alexander Izosimov said there was a high possibility his company would acquire telecommunications assets of Egypt's Naguib Sawiris even as disgruntled shareholder Telenor is seeking to derail the deal.

Record amounts of cash and cheap financing have emboldened chief executives to sign off on deals aimed at boosting growth in a sluggish economy, helping push global dealmaking to a four-year high.

President Barack Obama on Monday proposed spending almost $110 billion on Afghanistan, signaling little let-up in the U.S. war drive despite demands for tougher spending controls at home.

Jeff Garlin, an American actor, comedian and voice artist, and his wife have purchased a vintage six-room condominium unit on the Gold Coast for $591,700.

The debts assumed by the Western democracies will overwhelm their economies and lead to the end of our current Dollar-denominated, global currency regime. This has profound implications for Americans' standard of living and our empire's role in the world.

Jason Richardson, an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association, has re-listed his Oakland, CA home for $1.95 million, which is less than his initial asking price from 2008.

Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, will release its PlayBook tablet computer on two more high-speed network standards in the second half of 2011, the company said on Monday.

The top government auditor for bailouts of U.S. financial firms and automakers on Monday resigned his position as the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program winds down.

NEW YORK, Feb 14 - Technology communications company VoIP Inc sued Google Inc. in New York Supreme Court on Monday, accusing the Internet giant of stealing its trade secrets related to online voice technology.

President Barack Obama called for the elimination of farm subsidies to the wealthiest farmers in his new budget plan on Monday, arguing that the payments distort the farm sector and even pay some farmers that grow no crops.

Total public U.S. debt held outstanding will continue to pile up beyond its current $14 trillion dollar level over the next 10 years under President Barack Obama's federal budget plan for 2012 unveiled on Monday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates played down the accuracy of troop figures outlined in a budget request unveiled on Monday, saying the pace of the upcoming drawdown in Afghanistan was still unclear.

President Barack Obama on Monday proposed halving the U.S. deficit by 2013 and cutting $1.1 trillion over the next decade in a budget he called a downpayment on fiscal control.

Radiohead will release its new album The King of Limbs this coming weekend in a digital version available online, the alternative band said on Monday.

Starbucks Corp and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters are in partnership negotiations, a source close to the talks told Reuters on Monday, sending Green Mountain shares to a lifetime high.

President Barack Obama proposed on Monday boosting funds for clean energy research and deployment in his 2012 budget by slashing subsidies for fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.

Social Security would not change significantly under President Barack Obama's 2012 budget plan, leaving for later a fiscal reckoning on the massive U.S. pension program for the elderly and disabled.

According to a study from the University of California at Berkeley, African-Americans are more willing than whites to date across racial lines on online dating sites.

Gold rose above $1,360 an ounce on Monday on fears that Egypt's unrest could spread across the Arab world, while silver gained 2 percent on strong industrial demand driven by signs of an improving economy.

Bookseller Borders Group Inc is reviewing bids from liquidators to close hundreds of stores as it works out the final details of its impending bankruptcy filing, according to people close to the talks.

President Barack Obama on Monday proposed halving the deficit by 2013 and cutting $1.1 trillion over the next decade in a budget he called a downpayment on fiscal control.

President Barack Obama on Monday proposed an ambitious long-term transport spending plan in his 2012 budget as a way to boost U.S. economic competitiveness and spur job growth.

Taiwan's Acer Inc, the world's second-largest PC vendor, expects the market for mobile PCs to grow 10-12 percent in 2011, driven by emerging markets, its chief Gianfranco Lanci said on Monday.

President Barack Obama revived earlier proposals to raise tens of billions by cutting tax breaks enjoyed by America's biggest companies, ideas that have floundered in Congress for several years.