IBT Staff Reporter

General Electric Co sees upside to its 2010 financial framework, which calls for profit to be roughly flat with last year, and expects to resume opportunistic share buybacks by the end of this year.

Discount retailer Target Corp and warehouse club operator BJ's Wholesale Club Inc posted higher-than-expected quarterly earnings as consumers began to spend on more than just necessities.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Between 1 and 2 percent of children in the U.S. and Canada may have allergies to peanuts or tree nuts, with the U.S. rates seemingly on the rise, two new studies suggest.

A handful of Senate Democrats on Wednesday were pushing at the eleventh hour to make a sweeping Wall Street reform bill even tougher, but they were running out of time as a key procedural vote approached.

Drugmaker Novartis AG must pay $250 million in punitive damages to more than 5,000 current and former women employees, a jury ruled on Wednesday, two days after finding a U.S. division of the company discriminated against women over pay, promotion and pregnancy.

Europe's debt crisis shows the risks for the United States if it does not get its budget deficits under control, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said on Tuesday.

A handful of Senate Democrats on Wednesday were pushing at the eleventh hour to make a sweeping Wall Street reform bill even tougher, but they were running out of time as a key procedural vote approached.

Stocks fell on Wednesday as Germany's decision to ban naked short-selling of certain financial instruments fueled investor worries about exposure to riskier assets and about the global economy.

(Corrects name in 4th paragraph to Ruskin, instead of Raskin)

Senior Senate Democrats clashed on Tuesday over the last disputed pieces of a sweeping Wall Street reform bill headed for final passage within days.

The recession may have a permanent effect on the millennial generation, also called Generation Y.

Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest automaker, said it plans to recall four models of its Lexus luxury car in Japan due to steering problems, its latest move in a series of massive recalls.

The chief executive of Rolls-Royce has sold around half of his personal shareholding in the company, ahead of an expected hike in capital gains tax in next month's emergency Budget.

Authorities are investigating after four suspicious packages were sent to Toyota Motor Corp U.S. facilities in the past week that were later found not to contain threatening materials.

Deere & Co reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, and raised its full-year outlook, citing improving business conditions including a recovery in the hard-hit market for construction equipment.

Mexican auto supplier Metalsa SA de CV said on Tuesday it is not engaged in talks with Tata Motors Ltd about making Tata vehicles in Mexico.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as Germany's decision to ban naked short-selling of certain financial instruments fueled investor worries about exposure to riskier assets and about the global economy.

Fewer than 2 percent of mobile users in the United States and western Europe used their phone to download music in the first quarter, showing the uphill task facing Apple iTunes challengers like Nokia.

Google has overtaken Microsoft in the battle over the software that runs mobile phones and is challenging Apple for share of the fast growing smartphone market.

Italy has started an investigation into Google Inc's Street View web service, a local watchdog said on Wednesday following the U.S. group's announcement it had accidentally collected personal data over wireless networks.

Persuading Beijing to let its yuan currency rise in value is not simply an issue for the United States but one that should interest the whole world, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.

The plunge in oil prices in the wake of the euro crisis has OPEC worried. Qatar oil minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah emerged as an unofficial spokesman for the oil cartel over the weekend in a series of news agency reports from the Gulf that signaled the group's concern.

Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes shriveled to a 13-year low last week, following the expiration of federal tax credits, while near-record low mortgage rates stoked refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Stocks dropped on Wednesday after Germany's decision to ban naked short-selling of certain financial instruments and comments from its chancellor on the safety of the euro rattled investors.

Fidelity Investments said average U.S. retirement-account balances continued to rise in the first quarter as stock markets recovered and more savers resumed contributions to their 401 savings accounts.

Target Corp posted a higher quarterly profit as consumers loosened their wallets to spend on items including clothing and electronics.

We’ve all been there – sifting through the various job ad postings, sending through resume after resume, and all we want to do is get the application process over with as fast as possible. Everyone tells you to at least take a few minutes to tailor your resume and cover letter to each job you apply for.

Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes shriveled to a 13-year low last week, following the expiration of federal tax credits, while near-record low mortgage rates stoked refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Home sales in Southern California in April ticked down from a year earlier while the region's median home price jumped more than 15 percent over the same time as the area's housing market marked more small steps toward recovery.