IBT Staff Reporter

The United States must improve the business climate for manufacturers and not place undue regulatory burdens on the sector, the White House said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting focused on the industry.

EU antitrust regulators accepted on Wednesday Microsoft's offer to allow users in Europe choose rival Internet browsers, ending a decade-long dispute and averting a possible fine for the company.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday ahead of a statement from the Federal Reserve that will be scrutinized for clues on the state of the world's largest economy.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday ahead of a statement from the Federal Reserve that will be scrutinized for clues on the state of the world's largest economy.

Saks Inc has informed about 116 workers at its flagship Fifth Avenue store that they would lose their jobs by the end of January, the New York Post reported, citing sources.

Dutch Philips Electronics signaled a continued pick-up in the consumer electronics market, saying it expected fourth-quarter sales of about 2.8 billion euros ($4.1 billion) at its Consumer Lifestyle unit.

Abu Dhabi's $10 billion financial aid to fellow United Arab Emirates member Dubai to meet debt obligations was in the form of bonds, on similar terms to a $10 billion bond issue to the UAE central bank in February.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.2 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.2 percent at 0841 GMT (3:41 a.m. EST).

Shifting views on interest rates in 2010 whipsawed markets on Wednesday, with the Australian dollar tumbling as investors scaled back their bets on aggressive rate hikes, while U.S. Treasuries rose before the last Federal Reserve meeting this year.

When the global economic crisis hit in the autumn of 2008 there was a joke in Portugal that the world was finally catching up, and stumbling as it had after its own, home-grown housing bust in the early 2000s.

The Australian dollar fell and bonds jumped on Wednesday on decreased chances of an interest rate rise in February, while Japanese bank shares surged on a report of a possible delay in new global bank capital rules.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to stick to its super loose monetary policy stance on Wednesday as high unemployment constrains policy-makers' enthusiasm about the economy's recent improvement.

Shares of Japan Airlines Corp jumped 4 percent on Wednesday after the struggling carrier said most of its retirees were willing to accept cuts to pension payouts.

Thai investigators said Tuesday they have found mass weapons including rocket-propelled grenades, components for surface-to-air missiles and other armaments seized from a plane setting off via North Korea.

Top chief executives from the U.S. manufacturing sector will attend a meeting hosted by Vice President Joe Biden in Washington on Wednesday, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday.

Top Federal Reserve officials in charge of setting the nation's monetary policy are expected to continue offering banks at record low interest rates, when they finish their last scheduled meeting of the year Wednesday.

The U.S. government quietly agreed not to collect billions of dollars in potential taxes from Citigroup Inc as part of its deal to allow the bank to repay its taxpayer bailout, The Washington Post reported.

General Electric Co expects to record flat profit across its big industrial units next year, as a sluggish global economy crimps sales for jet engines, electric turbines and other heavy equipment.

Day trading is simply the buying and selling of any financial instrument in the same trading session. This is different from investing or swing trading.

Fed on Cruise Control; Flat Sales Ahead at GE; Boeing's Dream

Gold prices were flat at around $1,125 per ounce on Wednesday ahead of the conclusion of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which could provide clues about the timing of interest rate moves.

Shares of Japan Airlines Corp jumped 4 percent on Wednesday after the struggling carrier said most retirees were willing to accept cuts to pension payouts.

Oil prices rose above $70 a barrel on Tuesday, snapping their longest losing streak since 2001, as traders bet that government data will show U.S. crude inventories fell last week and colder-than-normal weather will boost demand for heating oil.

On December 14, FedEx Corp's busiest day this year, when the shipper handled almost double its normal number of packages, the entire system stretched to accommodate the global gift-giving frenzy that culminates nearly two weeks later around Christmas.

So Shooters, today's big news: Citigroup to pay back $20 billion in TARP to government. Why stop so soon the magic IV drip known as TARP funding (which had just been so graciously extended by Treasury)? Well, it's not because the company is back in good health. They just want to keep ahead of the talent-poaching with the zombies doing jumping jacks - the likes of Goldman Sachs.

Regulators were poised to open up the U.S. cable market to more competitors by closing a cable loophole blocking access to some sports programs to competitors, a source familiar with the issue said on Tuesday.

U.S. bank regulators on Tuesday approved an initial proposal to jump-start the securitization market and strengthen standards to avoid abuses that helped lead to the economic crisis, but the board remained divided on what limits to impose on banks.

The United Nations Climate summit (COP15) is likely to reach a final deal as world leaders were beginning to arrive at Copenhagen.

Microsoft said it was temporarily suspending its MSN China microblogging site, Juku, as it investigates a complaint of plagiarism from a start-up, Plurk.