IBT Staff Reporter

Ratings agency Moody's warned Spain it could be downgraded and frustration at Germany and France over their handling of the euro zone debt crisis boiled over on Wednesday, ahead of a European Union summit.

Ireland's parliament will vote on a controversial multi-billion euro EU/IMF bailout loan on Wednesday, putting pressure on opposition parties critical of the aid package ahead of a general election early next year.

Novartis AG has wrapped up its long-awaited buyout of the remainder of U.S.-listed Alcon Inc

China is on course to attract a record $100 billion in foreign direct investment this year, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday, evidence that it remains a top destination for global firms despite concerns about market barriers and rising labor costs.

Ratings agency Moody's put Spain on review for a possible downgrade on Wednesday, highlighting concerns over a looming funding crunch next year and prompting the euro and bank shares to slide.

The U.S. Air Force has blocked employees from visiting media websites carrying leaked WikiLeaks documents, including the New York Times and the Guardian.

Ratings agency Moody's said on Wednesday it has put Spain on review for a possible downgrade because of its high funding needs, doubts over its banking sector and concerns surrounding regional finances.

A downbeat assessment of the U.S. recovery from the Federal Reserve weighed on global equities on Wednesday while European shares and the euro came under pressure from a threat to downgrade Spain's debt.

Rating agency Moody's Investor Service on Wednesday put Spain's Aa1 sovereign credit rating on review for a possible downgrade, citing concerns over the country's mounting debt and its funding needs in 2011.

McDonald's Corp plans to double the number of its restaurants in China to 2,000 by 2013, a senior executive said on Wednesday as it speeds up expansion in the fastest growing major economy.

Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG has finally wrapped up its long-awaited buyout of U.S.-listed Alcon in a $12.9 billion deal after sweetening its original offer with a cash element.

China attracted $91.7 billion in foreign direct investment in the first 11 months of 2010, nearly 18 percent more than in the same period of 2009, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

Yields on U.S. Treasuries climbed to seven-month highs in Asia on Wednesday and the dollar rebounded as upbeat retail sales data added to evidence that America's economy is gathering steam.

Stocks eked out gains and U.S. Treasuries prices slumped on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve showed no signs of curtailing its economic stimulus measures and U.S. retail sales data signaled an accelerating economic recovery.

France's antitrust watchdog put Google on notice not to abuse what it said was its dominant position in online search advertising, adding to European regulatory pressure on the U.S. Web search giant.

Acer, the world's No.2 PC vendor, expects its China operations to make up more than 20 percent of its total sales in five years, helped by new tablet PCs and an alliance with China's Founder Technology.

The U.S. Air Force has blocked employees from visiting media websites carrying leaked WikiLeaks documents, including the New York Times and the Guardian.

U.S. banks could lose billions of dollars of annual revenue as new regulations cut into debit card fees, and lenders will likely be fighting regulators for years for the right to charge new fees to make up for lost profit.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a target of U.S. ire for releasing secret cables, returned to a London jail on Tuesday pending an appeal over a decision to free him on 200,000 pound ($317,400) bail for alleged sex crimes.

A small team has toiled away since early October in a quiet corner of Google Inc's sprawling campus in Mountain View, CA on a project related to the discovery of human antibodies.

General Electric Co expects rising demand for heavy equipment including medical imaging devices and railroad locomotives to drive strong profit growth in 2011, even as margins come under pressure from costs related to research and acquisitions.

A man in St. Louis and a woman in New Hampshire have received the first kidney transplants through a new computer algorithm that matches transplant candidates with living donors

Yahoo Inc said on Tuesday it will cut 4 percent of its workforce, as the struggling Web portal adjusts its operations to revive revenue growth.

DoubleClick and Microsoft Networks were victims of a drive by download attack that infected thousands of people with malware that tries to get them to buy unnecessary software to fix their computers.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp shareholders voted for all 12 of the company's board nominees in a victory against hostile suitor Carl Icahn, who had proposed a dissident slate.

The company says it looks to best provide the 'possible user experience' on the E7.

Japanese manufacturers' business sentiment worsened for the first time in nearly two years this quarter, a Bank of Japan survey showed, as they felt the pinch from a strong yen and slowing overseas growth.

First Solar Inc forecast higher-than-expected 2011 profit of $8.75 to $9.50 per share and said its sales would grow by about 46 percent to between $3.7 billion and $3.9 billion.

General Electric Co said on Tuesday demand for its industrial products and sales in China will allow it to post strong profit growth in 2011 even as margins come under pressure from costs related to research and acquisitions.