IBT Staff Reporter

C.A. Bancorp urged shareholders on Wednesday not to tender their stock to a new unsolicited bid from private equity firm Maxam, saying it was continuing talks with other parties interested in acquiring it.

The U.N. agency unveiled its draft global strategy to curb risks linked to alcohol which it estimates causes 2.5 million deaths a year from heart and liver disease, road accidents, suicides and various cancers -- 3.8 percent of all mortality.

Wall Street looked set for a modest rise on Wednesday as a positive outlook from Kraft Foods Inc revived hopes for a strong earnings season, and Chinese Internet search engine Baidu Inc surged on news rival Google Inc may pull out of China.

U.S. mortgage applications rose in the first week of 2010, reflecting surging demand for home refinancing loans as interest rates dropped, industry data showed on Wednesday.

ther internet search businesses operating in China could benefit from Google's possible exit from the market over censorship issues

A major earthquake rocked Haiti, killing possibly thousands of people as it toppled the presidential palace and hillside shanties alike and left the Caribbean nation appealing for international help.

An attack on Google and at least 20 other companies, that originated from China, seems to have exploited a vulnerability in the popular Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader software, possibly to steal proprietary codes.

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday as a positive outlook from Kraft Foods Inc revived hopes of a strong earnings season, and Chinese Internet search engine Baidu Inc surged on news rival Google Inc may pull out of China.

Online DVD rental company Netflix Inc inked a deal video game console maker Nintendo to allow Wii users to stream movies and TV episodes to their television sets.

Singapore's Dayen Environmental expects to be profitable in 2010, after posting losses for the past four years, and is aiming to win S$300 million of water contracts in Singapore and the region this year.

Major Asian stock indices fell on Wednesday due to tighter credit conditions, while German and UK stocks were mixed after economic reports as U.S. stocks were pointing to a higher opening.

East Timor's government may invite Malaysia's Petronas, not Australian energy firm Woodside Petroleum and partners, to develop the offshore Greater Sunrise gas field, a ministry official said on Wednesday.

REYKJAVIK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Iceland's economy minister said on Wednesday there were signs the country's IMF-led aid package would be delayed after a hitch in a deal to repay the UK and the Netherlands money lost in the island's banking collapse.

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro hit a one-month high against the dollar on Wednesday while higher-yielding currencies trimmed losses from the previous day as investors concluded China's surprise monetary tightening would not derail growth.

LG Electronics Inc, the world's No. 3 mobile phone maker, aims to increase handset sales by 20 percent this year and is pinning its hopes on Google's Android operating system to beef up its smartphone range.

An aviation industry outsider, the 77-year-old Kazuo Inamori looks set to take on the daunting task of turning around an airline saddled with $16 billion in debt, mired in losses and grappling with a massive pension shortfall.

U.S. mortgage applications rose during the first week of 2010, reflecting a surge in demand for home refinancing loans as interest rates dropped, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

Kazuo Inamori, the founder of electronics maker Kyocera Corp , agreed on Wednesday to become the new chief executive of Japan Airlines , as the carrier's shares plunged ahead of its expected bankruptcy.

Google's announcement that it may quit China over censorship and hacking drew applause, warnings and bouquets from dissidents and Internet activists on Wednesday, with few seeing much chance of the wary government giving ground.

Google Inc threatened to quit China, the world's biggest Internet market, warning it would no longer tolerate strict censorship of its Google.cn search engine.

China's monetary tightening and disappointing corporate earnings put downward pressure on world stocks on Wednesday, combining to present investors with two of their biggest concerns.

President Barack Obama will announce plans on Thursday to raise up to $120 billion from major U.S. financial firms to cover expected losses from a taxpayer-funded bank bailout, a senior administration official said on Tuesday.

An executive from Goldman Sachs Group Inc said the company in some cases profited by trading ahead of or against its own clients, the New York Times said on its website.

Facebook, the world's No. 1 social networking site, which has been a target of several high-profile cyber attacks in the past year, is giving away security software from McAfee Inc to protect its users.

Internet giant Google Inc has made a shock threat to quit China, the world's biggest Internet market by users, after hackers accessed human rights activists' e-mail accounts.

Chinese stocks led a drop in Asian equities on Wednesday as Beijing's surprise hike of banks' reserve requirements sparked investor concerns that the move could slow the country's purchases of natural resources and other imported goods from Asia.

Google Inc may pull out of China because of censorship and cyber attacks on rights activists, further straining Sino-U.S. relations as Washington prepared to tackle global Internet censorship.

Shares of Japan Airlines Corp's tumbled 81 percent, leaving it with a market value of just around $200 million, on mounting expectations the airline will file for bankruptcy next week and be delisted.

Stocks and commodities fell in Asia on Wednesday after China's surprise hike of banks' reserve requirements sparked investor concerns that the move could slow China's purchases of natural resources and other imported goods from Asia.