IBT Staff Reporter

Company officers were named in 81 percent of the enforcement cases brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2008, according to a study released Tuesday.

Most U.S. credit card companies reported charge-offs rose in November after two months of declines in a sign that consumers remain under stress, sending shares down industrywide.

Corrects spelling of Penson Financial in 12th paragraph of December 14 story

U.S. home buyers are less willing to buy foreclosed properties than six months ago, citing risks like hidden costs, but demand could grow because of the government's expanded tax credit, a new survey showed on Tuesday.

A new vaccine against polio, being used for the first time on children in Afghanistan this week, will be critical in the drive to eradicate the crippling virus, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.

Boeing's revolutionary lightweight 787 Dreamliner took to the skies for the first time on Tuesday, marking a new era in air transport as it became the largest passenger jet to fly made mostly of composite materials.

Refrigerated warehouse company Americold Realty Trust filed for an initial public offering worth $690 million on Monday.

Global talks on climate change still lack clarity and could even break down over serious outstanding issues with only three days to go before the world has to agree an outcome, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Danish hosts urged countries on Tuesday to compromise to salvage agreement on a new U.N. pact aimed at averting dangerous climate change.

Terreno Realty Corp on Monday filed for an initial public offering in a move that would let it profit from the economic recession and tight credit.

The following are some of the largest planned initial public offerings on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Kraft Foods Inc said new growth targets from Cadbury Plc were not enough to prompt it to raise its takeover offer, while workers for the British chocolatier said they would fight the 10 billion pound ($16.2 billion) hostile bid.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday that U.S. banks will be in a better position to resume lending as they pay back the unprecedented cash injections the government provided to keep them afloat during the financial crisis.

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) pledged on Monday to loan an additional $5 billion to small businesses in 2010, after the top executives for the largest U.S. banks met U.S. President Barack Obama.

Image Entertainment Inc (DISK.O) said it may be forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it defaulted on payment under convertible note and it was exploring strategic alternatives.

AT&T Inc (T.N) is looking to sell its outsourced services business in Japan, in a pullback for the U.S. giant from Asia's largest telecommunications market, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

Hospira Inc (HSP.N) said on Tuesday that it would buy Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd's (ORCD.BO) generic injectable drug business for $400 million in a deal that will expand its global reach and position as the market leader

A Michigan investment firm has finalized a deal to sell its 15 percent stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers to a group led by Kenny Huang, bringing LeBron James' team a step closer to adding the National Basketball Association's first big Chinese investor.

YouTube is considering offering users the option to pay for subscriptions in a bid to encourage more media companies to license premium TV shows and movies to the popular online video site, a senior executive said.

Canada's Khan Resources (KRI.TO) said it rejected an unsolicited bid from Russian state uranium miner ARMZ to acquire Khan for 65 Canadian cents a share, saying the offer was inadequate and contained objectionable terms.

Egypt is working on a $1 billion plan that will include increasing broadband penetration fourfold in the next four years to 4 million households, Communications Minister Tarek Kamel said on Tuesday.

The Dow and S&P 500 were slightly lower on Tuesday, slipping from 14-month highs, as a jump in producer prices ignited fears of inflationary pressures.

Dubai firms told bondholders they were safe a day after a bailout allowed troubled developer Nakheel to repay its bond, but investors still fretted over the future of the United Arab Emirates as an investment destination.

British and Irish Cadbury workers kicked off a campaign to fight a hostile bid from Kraft Foods on Tuesday vowing to pressure the UK government to do what it can to resist the bid.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed on Thursday to cooperate to lead the Copenhagen talks to the success.

There have been about 30 serious inquiries about IT Holding (ITH.MI), the owner of fashion brand Gianfranco Ferre, a source close to the special commissioners trying to find buyers said on Tuesday.

Top U.S. electronics chain Best Buy Co said gross margins during the holiday season would fall short of expectations as it sells more discounted goods like flat-screen televisions, sending shares down 8 percent.

Leading U.S. senators on opposite sides of the healthcare debate are emphasizing different parts of a proposed bill to show that while health insurance coverage will expand and individual costs for healthcare will drop, overall spending by the federal government will grow.

British Airways has started legal action in an attempt to halt the 12-day strike planned by its cabin crew over the Christmas holidays.