IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower on Wednesday as a strong reading on the labor market failed to convince investors to add to gains a day after the Dow and S&P advanced to their highest close in about 2-1/2 years.

Panasonic Corp plans further cost cuts to compete with South Korean rivals including Samsung, after stiff price competition in televisions and a stronger yen hurt its quarterly profit.

U.S. stock index futures dipped on Wednesday as a strong reading on the labor market failed to convince investors to add to gains a day after the Dow and S&P advanced to their highest close in about 2-1/2 years.

U.S. private employers added 187,000 jobs in January compared with a revised gain of 247,000 jobs in December, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

The Egyptian military has told protesters on Wednesday that they are the ones who can help Egypt to return to normal life, a day after President Hosni Mubarak said he would step down in months.

A new study says girls play video games to better connect with their families.

Britain’s enterprise search software maker Autonomy Corp Plc is now trying to attract the best applicants by giving away free Apple iPads to all graduates who get an interview call irrespective of whether or not they get a final call back.

World stocks punched fresh 29-month highs on Wednesday, lifted by strong data pointing to sustained global economic recovery, continuing positive corporate earnings and easing concerns about Egypt.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reportedly warned financial institutions in New York of potential terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda after published reports surfaced around a month back.

At the CES 2011, Motorola Xoom was the cynosure of Android 3.0 but a month later it has company, as LG has unveiled its tablet G-Slate, which runs on Honeycomb juice.

In the mid-week fixtures in the English Premier League, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all found important wins in pursuit of the title.

The annual Black History Month for the year 2011 has kicked started in the United States as well as Canada. The month is dedicated to learning and celebrating facts about African diaspora and the history.

Google has accused Bing - the search engine from Microsoft - of cheating.

China will likely raise interest rates again within the month, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing a forecast of economists and bankers with knowledge of the thinking of Chinese policymakers.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has began testing privacy-enhancing software that eliminates passenger-specific images and replaces them with the generic image of a person.

Researchers at Harvard call for more career-driven alternatives and proper counseling for high school students.

Nomura Holdings <8604.T>, Japan's top brokerage, reported its biggest profit in three quarters after gains in Tokyo stocks gave a boost to revenues, but higher costs to expand overseas limited earnings growth.

Japan is unlikely to escape from deflation at least through the fiscal year ending in March 2013, prompting the Bank of Japan to stick to its ultra-loose policy, Kazumasa Iwata, former deputy governor of the central bank, said on Wednesday.

Japan is unlikely to escape from deflation at least through the fiscal year ending in March 2013, prompting the Bank of Japan to stick to its ultra-loose policy, Kazumasa Iwata, former deputy governor of the central bank, said on Wednesday.

Swiss drugmaker Roche struck a cautious note on 2011, as the sector grapples with U.S. healthcare reforms and a push in Europe for lower drug prices, after growth of its top-seller Avastin slowed sharply in 2010.

Bing has responded to the allegations of copying from Google by dubbing the whole ordeal a back-handed compliment.

Sixty-nine per cent of investors say Facebook is overvalued after Goldman Sachs invested $450 million in a deal that valued the company at $50 billion, according to the quarterly poll of 1,000 Bloomberg customers who are investors, traders or analysts.

BP said U.S. regulators were considering filing charges against it related to alleged manipulation of the gas market.

Swiss drugmaker Roche joined peers in striking a cautious note on 2011 as the sector grapples with U.S. healthcare reforms and a push in Europe for lower drug prices.

It has been banned in most South Asian countries.

Panasonic Corp posted a larger-than-expected 5.6 percent fall in quarterly profit on Wednesday as tough price competition in TVs and a stronger yen offset help from Japan's incentive scheme.

Vodafone named outgoing Philips Chief Executive Gerard Kleisterlee as its new chairman, bringing emerging markets know-how and an ability to simplify a group to the world's largest mobile operator.

World stocks punched fresh 29-month highs on Wednesday, lifted by strong data pointing to sustained global economic recovery, continuing positive corporate earnings and easing concerns about Egypt.

Japan's economy will emerge from a lull toward spring and is certain to pull out of deflation over time, a Bank of Japan policymaker said, offering an upbeat take on the outlook on budding signs of a recovery.