IBT Staff Reporter

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has met members of parliament in the hope of persuading them to confirm a cabinet in time for an international conference at the end of the month, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Job Losses Lowest in Two Years; Concerns about Moral Hazzard for Mortgage Finance

Japan's prime minister chose his deputy, Naoto Kan, as finance minister on Wednesday after the elderly holder of the post resigned amid worries about whether the government could rein in spending in the face of a frail economy and ballooning debt.

Yemen has stepped up a campaign to root out al Qaeda militants after the group's Yemen-based wing said it was behind a December 25 attempt to bomb a U.S. airliner.

Yemeni forces surrounded a suspected al Qaeda regional leader in a house near the capital after earlier arresting three militants wounded in a raid, security sources said, as the country cracked down on militancy.

Family Dollar Stores Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and forecast earnings that should top Wall Street estimates again this quarter, sending its shares up 11 percent.

Stocks stayed little changed on Wednesday after data showed the services sector expanded marginally in December following a surprise contraction in November.

For some of us, the idea of planning a holiday and spending weeks together in a foreign land with our parents and children sounds like a new circle of hell in Dante's Inferno. But, if your family

Prior to the tsunami, a long standing, low level conflict existed within Aceh. Aji, a young Indonesian Red Cross volunteer at the time, recalls how he used to evacuate at least one corpse every day, victims of the fighting. After 29 years of conflict, that meant a lot of bodies. Instability raged across turbulent Aceh.

Stocks open little changed on Wednesday after a private report showed a smaller-than-expected slowdown in job losses in December.

The rate of job losses at U.S. private employers slowed in December, while planned layoffs at companies fell to the lowest in two years during the month, according to two reports released on Wednesday.

Monsanto Co reported a quarterly loss on Wednesday instead of the break-even results Wall Street had expected, citing a steep slide in herbicide revenue and a smaller drop in key corn and soybean seed sales.

Being an actuary, calculating statistics to determine probability and risk, is the best job to have in 2010, while working on an oil rig as a roustabout is the worst, according to a study released on Tuesday.

Oil eased on Wednesday after U.S. data showed weak mortgage demand in the world's top energy consumer, halting a nine-day rally that has lifted crude futures by 14 percent due to cold weather and geopolitical jitters.

Planned layoffs at U.S. firms fell in December to their lowest level in two years as economic activity began picking up steam, capping off the worst year for corporate job cuts since 2002, a report on Wednesday showed.

Global financial regulation has changed little since the 2008 banking crisis, but that won't be the case much longer.

Stock index futures suggested a flat open on Wednesday after a private report showed a slowdown in job losses, one day after the S&P 500 closed at a 15-month high.

Being an actuary, calculating statistics to determine probability and risk, is the best job to have in 2010, while working on an oil rig as a roustabout is the worst, according to a study released on Tuesday.

Demand for U.S. mortgages held last week near six-month lows as the highest long-term borrowing costs since August stifled refinancing, a Mortgage Bankers Association survey showed on Wednesday.

China, saddled with the world's second largest tuberculosis burden after India, is fighting an uphill battle against drug-resistant forms of the disease which will only drain the country's health budget.

Mild to severe depression might be better treated with alternatives to antidepressant drugs, which do not help patients much more than an inactive placebo, researchers said Tuesday.

As Congress moves to reform U.S. financial regulation, key senators are nearing bipartisan agreement on stripping the Federal Reserve of its authority to supervise banks, two people familiar with the matter said.

The rate of job losses at U.S. private employers slowed in December, while planned layoffs at companies fell to the lowest in two years during the month, according to two reports released on Wednesday.

U.S. researchers have identified 10 locations in California that have double the rates of autism found in surrounding areas, and these clusters were located in neighborhoods with high concentrations of white, highly educated parents.

It may still seem to be in the realm of science fiction, but nearly half of Americans believe cloning organs will be routine by 2020, according to a new poll.

Family Dollar Stores Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and said earnings should top forecasts again this quarter as the discount chain lures more shoppers and improves margins, sending its shares up 8.4 percent.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday she was sure Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate would produce a final healthcare reform plan that would hold insurers accountable and make medical coverage affordable.

More US kids are fully immunized against common childhood illnesses, and disparities in vaccine coverage among socioeconomic groups are shrinking, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.

Stock index futures held to losses on Wednesday after a report showed the U.S. private sector shed slightly more jobs than forecast in December.