IBT Staff Reporter

The Federal Reserve scored a victory and mortgage bankers suffered a defeat on Wednesday as the U.S. Senate took aim at bank supervision and housing finance in its sprawling Wall Street reform effort.

Technology and industrial shares boosted Wall Street on Wednesday as Spain unveiled an austerity plan that further eased jitters over euro-zone debt woes.

IBM said it expects its profit to roughly double to more than $20 a share by 2015, helped by growth in emerging markets as well as the company's push into high-margin technology services and software businesses.

Macy's Inc returned to profit in the first quarter as the department store operator benefited from a strong recovery in consumer spending and efforts to cater merchandise to local tastes.

ROME (Reuters Life!) - Falling chunks of mortar from Rome's Colosseum has rekindled the debate about the state of the Italian capital's archaeological treasures -- some of which are literally falling apart.

(Reuters) - First lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday unveiled a 70-point plan for reducing childhood obesity within a generation, including a call for marketing healthier food, but stopping short of recommending regulatory action or a federal tax on sugary sodas.

CHICAGO (Reuters.com) - Some 80 years ago John Ruocco's then16-year-old uncle was struck and killed by a drunk driver in the Bronx. Although it happened years before he was born, Ruocco grew up hearing about the tragedy from his parents, who witnessed it, and vowed to do something about drunk driving. A couple of years ago Ruocco finally made good on the promise, developing a test that sends real...

(Reuters) - More than two thirds of the estimated 8.8 million deaths in children under five worldwide in 2008 were caused by infectious diseases like pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria, according to a study on behalf of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The International Energy Agency revised its global oil demand forecast for 2010 down by 220,000 barrels a day, mostly due to changes to non-OECD historical data though also because of February data and preliminary estimates for March and April.

If US inflation concerns, Euro Zone debt crisis helped gold to surge to a recent high of Rs 1230 on Tuesday, subsequent news events don't paint a further bullish picture for the yellow metal. The negative factors for gold come from the vary zone that created the bull rally in gold the other day.

U.S. stock indexes rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday, boosted by gains in materials and technology shares and after Spain unveiled an austerity plan that further eased jitters over euro-zone sovereign debt woes.

IBM said it expects its profit to nearly double to over $20 a share by 2015, helped by the company's push into profitable technology services and software businesses.

Last week's action on Wall Street and other world markets demonstrated anew gold's special qualities as a financial life preserver in tumultuous and uncertain times. With stock prices plummeting and the euro continuing to lose value as well as credibility, gold was virtually the only financial and investment asset to shine, continuing its recent sharp climb and breaking through the $1,200 level, according to Jeffrey Nichols, Senior Economic Advisor to Rosland Capital.

(Reuters) - U.S. pharmacy chain Walgreen Co plans to start selling genetic testing kits to help people assess their risk for inherited diseases in a move that has already drawn the attention of federal health officials.

Gold surged to a record high on Wednesday as investors sought safety from the risk of Greece's debt crisis spreading to other countries, with demand for coins, bars and bullion-backed exchange-traded funds all climbing.

Shoe lovers in London can give their Blackberries and iPhones a rest after one lucky fashionista won the race for a pair of free Jimmy Choos.

A private equity deal for Fidelity National Information Services Inc , currently being negotiated, could be worth around $15 billion if a buyout is agreed, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, boosted by gains in materials and technology shares and after Spain unveiled an austerity plan that further eased jitters over euro-zone sovereign debt woes.

Top oil executives faced a second day of grilling on Wednesday by U.S. lawmakers over a gushing well leak in the Gulf of Mexico as BP scrambled with its latest deep-sea effort to control the huge spill that threatens environmental disaster.

The U.S. trade deficit hit its widest point in more than a year in March, with a jump in imports swamping a rise in exports as the global economy strengthened, a government report showed on Wednesday.

U.S. mortgage applications rose last week, reflecting a jump in demand for home refinancing loans as interest rates reached their lowest level since mid-March, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

More U.S. home sellers cut their listing prices in April, aiming to seal deals in the waning days of federal tax credits meant to revive housing, real estate web site Trulia.com said on Wednesday.

U.S. federal investigators are probing whether Morgan Stanley misled investors about mortgage derivative products it helped create and sometimes bet against, The Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Spain became the latest euro zone country to announce sweeping austerity measures on Wednesday as the executive European Commission sought unprecedented power to pre-vet national budgets.

Wall Street was set to open higher on Wednesday as Spain said it would take wide austerity measures, further easing jitters over euro-zone sovereign debt woes.

Ford Motor Co executives at the annual meeting Thursday in Wilmington, Delaware, will have to make the case that the No. 2 U.S. automaker can outperform rivals in a recovering U.S. market as it did during the crushing downturn in auto sales that began in 2008.

The story of how Pennsylvania's capital city Harrisburg has lurched toward the precipice of financial ruin is a cuckoo tale involving one man's vision of creating a hub for museum lovers, a possible FBI investigation, and a $45,000 tomahawk that may or may not have been owned by Chief Crazy Horse.

Top oil executives face a second day of grilling by U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday over a deadly well rupture that unleashed a huge oil slick and the specter of environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday as Spain said it would take wide austerity measures, further easing jitters over euro-zone sovereign debt woes.