IBT Staff Reporter

It's early days, but speculation is already building that HSBC may participate in the auction for a $3.9 billion stake in Korea Exchange Bank , South Korea's sixth-largest lender.

The World Bank raised its 2010 growth and inflation forecasts for China and recommended a tighter monetary policy as well as a stronger exchange rate to restrain inflation expectations and asset bubbles.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 all up around 0.2 percent.

World stocks climbed on Wednesday in response to a relatively optimistic outlook from the U.S. Federal Reserve combined with a pledge to keep interest rates low.

Technology stocks pushed Asian shares to a two-month high on Wednesday, powered by hopes of strong earnings for Intel, while the yen faltered after the Bank of Japan loosened policy in a bid to spur the flagging economy.

A study in New Zealand showed that, three years after a smoking ban on all workplaces was introduced, hospital admissions for heart attacks among men and women aged 55-74 fell by 9 per cent. This figure rose to 13 per cent for 55-74 year olds who had never smoked.

Study reaffirms 'obesity paradox': Obese patients at lower risk of sudden cardiac death compared to non-obese patients.

China said on Wednesday it could not be any clearer in its repeated commitment to a stable exchange rate after the U.S. Congress threatened to levy duties on some Chinese exports if it fails to revalue its currency.

Simon Property Group Inc is weighing a higher bid for General Growth Properties Inc after the No. 2 U.S. mall owner came up with a rival plan to emerge from bankruptcy as a standalone company, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Technology plays led Asian shares higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve maintained its pledge to hold interest rates near zero, which kept the dollar near one-month lows against major currencies.

Mackay North State HIgh School has issues that they have exposed their students to asbestos risk.

Amazon.com Inc said that John Doerr, a renowned venture capitalist who, early on, funded many of the Internet's biggest names, will not run for reelection to the board at the company's next shareholder meeting.

Google Inc's initial sales of its Nexus One smartphone have significantly lagged the pace of Apple Inc's iPhone and Motorola Inc's Droid sales coming out of the starting gate, an analytics firm said on Tuesday.

Stocks rose to a fresh 17-month high on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve held benchmark rates near zero and maintained its pledge to keep them low for an extended period.

The Federal Reserve renewed its pledge on Tuesday to keep interest rates near zero for an extended period even as it sounded more upbeat about jobs.

Members of Congress on Tuesday threatened Beijing with duties on some of its exports if it fails to revalue its currency, pressuring the Obama administration to label China a currency manipulator.

Popular legal thriller author John Grisham has broken his holdout against selling his books in an electronic format and will sell all of his 23 titles as e-books, his publisher said on Tuesday.

Boeing Co said on Tuesday it expects only modest growth in its space revenues over the next five years with commercial orders seen accounting for a growing share as government orders decline.

Most House Democrats back President Barack Obama's plan to let tax cuts for the wealthy expire this year, though the proposal will face a battle in the Senate, the acting chief of the tax-writing panel in the House of Representatives said on Tuesday.

CIT Group Inc reported a $1 billion loss in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, excluding one-time items and accounting adjustments, as the recently bankrupt commercial lender was hurt by high borrowing and credit costs.

After two rocky years and a severe global financial crisis, General Electric Co expects its profit and dividend to rise in 2011, the largest U.S. conglomerate's chief financial officer said.

Simon Property Group Inc has been corresponding with bankrupt General Growth Properties Inc about revising its offer, sources close to the matter said on Tuesday.

With Google expected to decide soon whether to close its Chinese search engine, students at one of the schools cited by some reports for being behind hacking attacks on the Internet giant are decidedly ambivalent.

The end of the Federal Reserve's program of purchasing $1.25 trillion of mortgage-backed securities at the end of March is a form of tightening monetary policy, the chief of the largest U.S. bond fund manager said on Tuesday.

Delta Air Lines Inc said it could cut 840 jobs at a subsidiary that provides ground-handling operations as part of a plan to consolidate operations in Cincinnati in May to save costs.

GMAC's Residential Capital unit is attracting early buyer interest from companies including BlackRock Inc and Blackstone Group.

CIT Group Inc on Tuesday reported a $1 billion loss in the fourth quarter, excluding one-time items and accounting adjustments, as the recently-bankrupt commercial lender was hurt by high borrowing and credit costs.

The Federal Reserve renewed its pledge on Tuesday to keep interest rates near zero for an extended period even as it sounded more upbeat about jobs.

The Australian Dollar opens higher against the greenback today at 0.9180.