IBT Staff Reporter

CIT Group Inc is planning to offer its unsecured debt holders two options: either exchange their debt voluntarily, or face a prepackaged bankruptcy, sources close to the situation said on Wednesday.

The Australian Dollar opens today at 0.8810 having surged higher during local trade on Wednesday after stronger than expected economic data.

Apple is in talks with several media companies rooted in print, negotiating content for a new device, according to Gizmodo.

Chinua Achebe, the grandfather of modern African literature, first began telling stories as a means to reaching the truth. Fiction, he knew, could sometimes strike deeper than real life.

Oscar-winning Pulp Fiction screenwriter Roger Avary was sentenced to a year in jail on Wednesday after killing a newlywed Italian passenger in a drunken driving crash in California last year.

Stocks fell on Wednesday after a surprising contraction in an index of Midwest business activity, but buying of technology bellwethers like Cisco Systems Inc at the end of a strong quarter limited losses.

A British government minister asked California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday to shut down a U.S. website that allows men to rate prostitutes, including many working in London.

Stocks fell on Wednesday after a surprising contraction in an index of Midwest business activity, but buying of technology bellwethers like Cisco Systems Inc at the end of a strong quarter limited losses.

President Barack Obama announced a plan on Wednesday to spend $5 billion on medical and scientific research, medical supplies and upgrading laboratory capacity, which he said would create tens of thousands of new jobs.

Dennis Hopper, the Oscar-nominated actor and star of movies including 1969's iconic Easy Rider, was hospitalized in New York on Wednesday with flu-like symptoms, said his representative.

Executives from Chrysler Group LLC will meet the U.S. Treasury Department's auto task force this week, but no public statement is expected after the meeting, a Treasury official said on Tuesday.

Actor John Travolta testified in a Bahamian extortion trial on Wednesday that he was told that unless he paid $25 million, stories would be sold to the news media implying his son's death was intentional and he was to blame.

Video gaming will hit the big screen next month when Sony Corp unveils a new game title for its Playstation3 game console at movie theaters.

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, best known for playing big screen action heroes Wolverine and James Bond, have drawn record ticket sales for their play A Steady Rain, but it drew mixed reviews on Wednesday after opening night.

The Obama administration's pay czar joked Wednesday that he might have to move to Pluto to escape the fallout from his first batch of compensation decisions, which are expected in October.

Beleaguered Bank of America Corp said Chief Executive Ken Lewis will retire by year's end and his successor is yet to be determined, the bank announced late Wednesday.

France hopes to have 2 million electric cars on the road by 2020, and its energy minister Jean-Louis Borloo will on Thursday launch a plan designed to ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place in time.

Apple's iPhone and iPod touch dominate most of the world in the mobile Web browsing battle, with a 40 percent global total that bests its rivals, according to a new study.

Bank of America chief executive officer Ken Lewis will soon inform or has already informed his board of directors that he will be stepping down by the end of the year, according to CNBC.

Japan's prime minister and transport minister said on Wednesday the government was ready to support Japan Airlines Corp, aiming to dispel worries over the viability of the loss-making carrier.

Mongolia's government, trying to sell a stake in a coal mine said to be worth around $2 billion, may allow multiple companies to buy into the deal rather than hand it to a single bidder, sources said.

The Obama administration's pay czar joked Wednesday that he might have to move to Pluto to escape the fallout from his first batch of compensation decisions, which are expected in October.

Stocks fell on Wednesday after a surprising contraction in an index of Midwest business activity, but buying of technology bellwethers like Cisco Systems Inc at the end of a strong quarter limited losses.

Vale will begin a partial restart of its Sudbury, Ontario, operations this week, a company spokesman said on Wednesday, as signs emerged that workers were becoming frustrated with the 2-1/2 month strike at the site.

Penske Automotive Group said on Wednesday it has terminated discussions with General Motors Co to acquire the automaker's Saturn brand.

Coca-Cola Co said on Wednesday it will include calorie information on the front of nearly all its packages, as the world's largest soft drink maker seeks to raise consumer awareness about nutrition.

The U.S. economy shrank less in the second quarter than first thought but negative news on jobs and on manufacturing in the country's Midwest in September pointed to a patchy recovery from recession.

Whoopi Goldberg thinks film director Roman Polanski, who was arrested in Switzerland and may be extradited to the U.S.- did not rape a 13-year old girl in the 1970's.

BEA release schedule: Oct - Dec 2009