IBT Staff Reporter

The number of mass layoffs by U.S. employers edged up in January as manufacturers stepped up job cuts, data showed on Tuesday, but probably not enough to alter views that the economy is on the brink of creating jobs.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reaffirmed his commitment to keep interest rates low for an extended period.

Bloom Energy, the San Francisco based energy startup which has been drawing a lot of attention this week, is holding a press event Wednesday morning where the company is expected to unveil further details on its Bloom Box product.

Toyota Motor Corp's president pledged to cooperate fully with U.S. government officials investigating safety problems on Wednesday as he prepared to tell a congressional panel that the automaker had let standards slip in its rise to the top.

Sales of newly built single-family homes unexpectedly fell to a record low in January, according to government data on Wednesday that hinted at potential trouble for the fragile housing market recovery.

A coach's split-second lapse of concentration was all it took to add Sven Kramer's name to a roll call of athletes hit by mishap, mistake or miscalculation when they thought Olympic gold was already in the bag.

Thomson Reuters Corp reported a lower quarterly profit and signaled that cutbacks by financial customers last year would continue to hurt revenue in 2010, sending its shares down 2 percent.

Kim Yuna mimed a pistol firing at the end of her Bond Girl routine and with it a warning shot to her rivals that it will be hard to stop her winning Olympic gold in the women's figure skating.

The Czech Republic advanced to the quarter-finals of the Olympic men's ice hockey tournament with a 3-2 overtime win over Latvia on Tuesday but lost star player Jaromir Jagr to an upper body injury.

Slovakia paid Norway back for a nasty first-period hit by taking a 4-3 victory on Tuesday that puts them into the quarter-finals of the Olympic ice hockey tournament.

Canada stormed into the Olympic men's ice hockey quarter-finals on Tuesday while Switzerland and the Czech Republic were pushed to the limit and Slovakia battled to a bloody victory over Norway.

Europe and U.S. stock indices edged up cautiously ahead of Fed Chairman Bernanke's semi-annual testimony on monetary policy and the state of the economy at 10:00 am EST.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for clues to the U.S. central bank's thinking on the economy.

Canada's Olympic inquisition was put on ice after an extraordinary day of raw emotion at the Vancouver Winter Games on Tuesday.

World number two truck maker Volvo said on Wednesday deliveries of its trucks fell 8 percent year-on-year in January as weak demand continued to plague its main European market.

Apple is overdue for a refresh of its popular MacBook Pro product line, and recent checks indicate that a new model may come as soon as this summer.

China's textiles and garments export value hit $15.57 billion in the first month of this year. In a statement issued here,China's General Administration of Customs said, this was an increase by 2.2 percent from the same month last year.

India's ITC is planning to market their food products in UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) through a partnership with the Al Seer Group, an ITC official was quoted by a new report.

Toyota Motor Corp's president braced for tough questions from a U.S. congressional panel on Wednesday.

Will India go in for buying the 191 tonnes of gold that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to sell soon? Yes, India is a potential buyer for the remaining stock of IMF gold that is to be sold in the open bullion market, analysts said on Wednesday.

A four member delegation from Alrosa Co. Ltd, headed by vice president Mr. Yury Okoyomov is on an exploratory trip to India from 21st February to 26th February, 2010. The team has met up with the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) headed by chairman Mr. Vasant Mehta on 22nd February, 2010.

Four days of blizzards dumped 67 cm (26 inches) across the Russian capital by Tuesday, breaking the Feb record of 64 cm experienced at the height of the Cold War 44 years ago, and much more is expected this week, the Moscow weather bureau said.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for clues to the U.S. central bank's thinking on the economy.

The U.S. government will pull the plug soon on a popular tax credit that has helped prop up the struggling housing sector amid hope that a pickup in hiring will give the market a fresh shot of life.

New York-based SkyBridge Capital is in advanced talks to purchase Citigroup Inc's $4 billion hedge fund business, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Oil shed over 30 cents to near $78.50 on Wednesday as investors fretted over signs of weakness in any global recovery and waited for U.S. figures later for clearer indications on crude inventories and imports.

US mortgage applications fell for a third straight week, with demand for home purchase loans sinking to the lowest level in 13 years as inclement weather weighed.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday as investors awaited congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for clues to the U.S. central bank's thinking on the economy.

Researchers from Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark studied 20,000 single pregnancies and found a fourfold increased risk of stillbirths for women who had IVF or ICSI compared with women who conceived naturally.