IBT Staff Reporter

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday voiced guarded optimism the battered U.S. job market was improving, but it repeated a vow to keep interest rates extraordinarily low for an extended period.

Prudential Financial Inc said on Wednesday it expects the sale of its minority stake in Wachovia Securities to produce a $1.5 billion after-tax gain.

Susan Boyle led the U.S. pop album chart for a third week Wednesday, while Chris Brown's new album debuted at a disappointing No. 7.

Golden Globe nominations seldom lead to the big box-office bounce that Oscar contenders can enjoy, but positive media attention can help limited releases mount successful expansions.

Switzerland will decide next year whether to extradite film director Roman Polanski to the United States for sentencing over a 1977 case of unlawful sex with a minor, the Justice Ministry said on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as a benign reading on the November Consumer Price Index bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep its accommodative monetary stance to foster an economic recovery.

U.S. stocks maintained gains on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would leave interest rates unchanged and reaffirmed its promise to keep rates low for an extended period.

When six A-list directors -- Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker); James Cameron (Avatar); Lee Daniels (Precious); Peter Jackson (The Lovely Bones); Jason Reitman (Up in the Air); and Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) -- gathered recently for a candid discussion of filmmaking, hilarity ensued immediately as they swapped war stories.

In its last scheduled meeting of the 2009 calendar year, a committee of top Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday that it would continue to keep interest rates at record low levels for an extended period, as expected, but acknowledged that the labor market deterioration is abating.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gave a big Thank You For The Music to ABBA on Tuesday, announcing that the Swedish pop group would be among its 2010 inductees.

G-III Apparel Group Ltd (GIII.O) said its offering of 1.7 million common shares was priced at $19.50 apiece, a discount of 8 percent to the stock's previous close.

TAM Linhas Aereas (TAMM4.SA) (TAM.N), Brazil's largest airline, said on Wednesday it plans to spin off its Multiples SA unit in an initial public offering, hoping to capitalize on a boom in share sales.

Shares of the latest initial public offering backed by private equity firm Blackstone Group (BX.N) rose nearly 7 percent in their New York Stock Exchange debut after an initally cool reception.

The full U.S. Senate seems certain to put off until next month a vote to reconfirm Ben Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, a Democratic aide said on Wednesday.

U.S. Senator John Kerry raised the possibility on Wednesday that a major energy and climate change bill he is trying to craft might not contain the cap and trade mechanism for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Switzerland will accept a detainee from the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba after the United States requested the Alpine country and other states to house prisoners.

McDonald's restaurant chain announced Wednesday that from January 2010, it will begin offering free Wi-Fi in its stores in the U.S. and Canada.

This diary is updated daily. New listings or amendments are marked *. All events/times provisional and in GMT (local time is GMT +2 for Egypt and Sudan).

Facet Biotech Corp (FACT.O) said on Wednesday it agreed to allow The Baupost Group LLC, a big investor, to increase its stake in the company to as much as 20 percent, in a bid to fight off a hostile bid from Biogen Idec Inc (BIIB.O).

Almost one in five European companies is likely to make a major acquisition next year, a survey showed, adding weight to claims that European mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are set to rebound from their 2009 trough.

Dress Barn Inc (DBRN.O) raised its profit view for the fiscal 2010 as its stores have performed better than expected till date, the company said on Wednesday.

Richard Branson's Virgin Group has launched a company to help consumers with technical problems such as PCs crashing, wireless networks not connecting and games consoles refusing to link up with other gear.

Stocks rose on Wednesday after data showed consumer prices did not overheat in November, quelling inflation worries, while housing data pointed to sustained recovery ahead of a Federal Reserve statement on the condition of the U.S. economy.

Global regulators will give banks a grace period before forcing them to implement stricter capital rules, three people said on Wednesday, easing concerns that lenders might need to issue massive amounts of shares in the near future.

British technical plastic products supplier Carclo Plc (C1Y.L) said it would raise 3.7 million pounds ($6.01 million) from a placing of shares to accelerate projects in its technology business.

American Airlines said that it, private equity firm TPG and Oneworld alliance partners could increase their $1.1 billion investment offer to Japan Airlines (9205.T), depending on the struggling carrier's restructuring plan.

French stock market regulator AMF will announce on Thursday the outcome of a more than three year investigation into suspected insider trading and misleading communications at Airbus parent EADS

Mining equipment maker Joy Global Inc (JOYG.O) posted a 5 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by tighter cost controls, and said order rates would improve in 2010, sending its shares up 3 percent.

(Corrects figure for November housing starts to 574,000 units in paragraph 8)