IBT Staff Reporter

Chrysler Group LLC on Wednesday reported that its US auto sales surged 17 percent over last year, as demand for pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles gained momentum.

Riding on strong sales across its various families of cars, Mercedes-Benz USA on Wednesday reported a 13.3 percent Year on Year (YoY) rise in November sales.

BMW Group on Wednesday said its US auto sales shot up 27.1 percent over last year driven by strong demand for all-wheel-drive vehicles, the X5 and X6 in particular, and the 5 Series with AWD.

Nissan Motors on Wednesday said its US auto sales in November rose 26.8 percent over last year, led by sales of its various lines of cars and sports utility vehicles, such as Versa and Rogue model.

Toyota Motors on Wednesday said its US auto sales in November dropped by 3 percent over last year, making it the only major automobile maker to report a sales drop for the month.

Ford Motors on Wednesday said its US auto sales in November rose 24.3 percent from a year earlier, led by big increase in sales of trucks and small cars.

General Motors on Wednesday said its US auto sales in November rose 11.4 percent over last year led by a balanced contributions from Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac cars, crossovers and trucks.

Japan's Nikkei share average hit a five-month high and the euro stayed within sight of overnight highs on Thursday ahead of a European Central Bank meeting that investors speculate could yield new measures to contain the euro zone's fiscal crisis.

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has boosted its tax practice by appointing London-based Colin Hargreaves as its new global head of tax.

While the company is not confirming details, a media report says their new endeavor will be an open platform with an attached retail store.

Hershey Co., producer of Reese's chocolate candies, has filed a lawsuit against Mars Inc., complaining that the wrapping of the latter's Dove line of peanut butter and chocolate bars copy its packaging.

A presidential commission trying to balance the budget on Wednesday softened a proposed tax overhaul to win broader support for its bold plan to slash the $1.3 trillion federal deficit.

Del Monte Foods, one of the country's largest producers, distributors and marketers of branded food and pet products for the U.S. retail market, has agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) for $5.3 billion, including debt.

A Danish company is planning to build fuel cells that can be used in the home, powered by natural gas.

Sen. Jim Bunning, R-KY expressed anger Wednesday that the potential for another mortgage crisis remains, despite efforts to deal with the mortgage crisis over the past decade.

A U.S. district court jury has returned a verdict that business software maker SAP AG has stolen software from rival Oracle Corp. and must pay the latter $1.3 billion in damages.

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-NH, stated the obvious today regarding a plan to deal with the nation’s long-term fiscal well-being. He said, There are no easy fixes here.”

The wireless network provider says the new network will be 10 times faster than 3G.

Groupon announced a handful of deals on Wednesday to expand its presence in Silicon Valley and in Asia, as Google Inc remains in talks to acquire the online discount coupon provider.

Unemployment insurance expired for approximately 800,000 out-of-work Americans yesterday, and two million more will lose their benefits at the end of the year, unless Congress takes action to extend the benefits.

The U.S. government had been secretly sheltering Nazi war criminals for several years and has clashed with other nations over their fate, a 600-page report, which the Department of Justice has tried to keep hidden from the public, reveals.

Spot Gold touched a near 3-week high for Dollar investors above $1396 per ounce in London trade on Wednesday, but slipped back from new record highs in Euros and Sterling as the US currency dipped on the forex market.

The founder of the controversial whistleblower website, Wikileaks, has been placed on Interpol’s international wanted persons list, the international police organization announced today.

U.S. online retail sales on Cyber Monday hit an all-time high and surpassed $1 billion for the first time for any single day of web shopping, according to research firm comScore Inc.

Apple has been accorded a U.S. patent that related to a technology that allows multiple users to view 3D images on a screen sans a 3D glass.

After facebook, Twitter, now LinkedIn is focused on its “new share button”.

No central bank ever began a hyper-inflationary policy because it feared inflation. Such disasters always come because of vanished credit and economic depression. And whether in Germany nine decades ago, or in Argentina twenty years back, or in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe around the turn of this century, stuff actually gets cheaper - not more expensive - in real terms during hyperinflation.

Johnny Depp says that Disney bosses were not comfortable with his portrayal of Captain Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies

women's group angry at her for filming a love story about a Bosnian rape victim and a Serb