IBT Staff Reporter

Chrysler is making an operating profit and building cash, the No. 3 U.S. automaker's boss told reporters and industry executives on Wednesday as he unveiled a five-year plan to turn the company around.

U.S. stocks briefly touched session highs on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would keep borrowing costs near zero for an extended period even though it expressed confidence the U.S. economic recovery was gaining momentum.

Bruce Springsteen is dusting off his catalog once again, as he and the E Street Band have announced two more full-album performances this coming weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York.

If Opus Dei had a rough ride in the blockbuster movie based on Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, it looks set for an altogether more sympathetic portrayal in another film that deals with the Catholic organization.

Molson Coors Brewing Co said beer volumes continue to decline in the current fourth quarter as consumers remain focused on value, pushing shares down 7 percent despite a better-than-expected quarterly profit.

Backstage, renowned novelist John Irving tells a story about the 300-pound (165-kg) man he found in the sauna at his New York hotel that morning.

The top U.S. securities regulator on Wednesday called on Corporate America to modernize its proxy voting practices to give shareholders a greater voice in governing the companies they own.

The general insurance industry may not be able to cope with the increased frequency and severity of floods and typhoons brought about by climate change, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said on Wednesday.

The Energy Information Administration's (EIA) U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids Proved Reserves, 2008 reports that proved reserves of crude oil fell by more than 10 percent in 2008, primarily because of low end-of-year prices used to estimate proved reserves, even though discoveries of crude oil rose for the third year in a row. In contrast, proved reserves of natural gas rose by 3 percent in 2008, despite low end-of-year prices.

The chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee is seeking changes to draft legislation for the $450 trillion privately-traded derivatives markets, with the intent of making it harder for banks to avoid trading the contracts on exchanges.

The mood in the global automotive industry has shifted to cautious optimism, marked by the unveiling on Wednesday of Chrysler's turnaround plan and General Motors' plan to keep its Opel unit.

Freed British mercenary Simon Mann said his homecoming was the most wonderful he could have imagined, after earlier expressing relief that his West African coup attempt had failed.

Stocks resumed their climb back toward session highs on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held its stance to keep borrowing costs near zero for an extended period even though it expressed confidence the U.S. economic recovery was gaining steam.

The Obama White House on Wednesday attempted to play down election losses in Virginia and New Jersey in contests that analysts said served as a warning shot to Democrats looking ahead to 2010 voting.

There's a simple way to get Americans to drive fuel-efficient cars, according to auto executives, but they are not going to like it -- sharply hike the gas tax.

Intel Corp was sued on Wednesday by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who accused the world's largest chipmaker of scheming to maintain monopoly power in the market for microprocessors.

(Corrects Molson's ranking to fifth-largest brewer, not third-largest, paragraph 5)

Peterborough Renewable Energy Limited (PREL) has been granted approval to build a waste recycling and green power plant that could eliminate the need for landfill sites in the area, the government said on Wednesday.

The Fed's monetary policy arm on Wednesday said it saw economic activity continuing to rise, noting a better housing sector, household spending.

European Union lawmakers approved a list on Wednesday of EU industries that stand to receive help with meeting the cost of permits to emit carbon dioxide.

World powers have a very good chance of reaching a political deal to target global curbs in carbon emissions at a U.N. conference in Copenhagen next month, British climate change expert Nicholas Stern said on Wednesday.

Carbon emissions prices could become the driver for other energy commodities within the next 5-10 years, said Jean-Francois Steels, head of Mercuria Energy Group's newly expanded emissions trading team.

Service Sector Grows; Cuomo Hits Intel; Time Warner Beats Street

Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday it is cutting a further 800 jobs across its operations, on top of 5,000 jobs already eliminated under a plan to reduce costs that was announced in January.

U.S. stocks climbed on Wednesday on positive data about the services sector and employment, while investors awaited the Fed's assessment of the economic recovery.

Christopher O'Neill is worried about the deficit. The deficit, that is, in his personal income after the 26-year-old Miami finance analyst was forced to find a temporary job paying $20,000 a year less than he earned until January when he was laid off from his auditor's post in Miami.

General Motors' decision to keep its European unit Opel is embarrassing for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had lobbied for a sale, but the U.S. group's U-turn deals no lasting blow to her new government.

If you're looking for ground zero in America's longest and deepest recession, El Centro in southern California appears on first glance to fit the bill.

Intel Corp was sued on Wednesday by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who accused the world's largest chipmaker of scheming to maintain worldwide monopoly power in the market for microprocessors.