IBT Staff Reporter

Wal-Mart Stores Inc's Sam's Club chain said on Wednesday that its U.S. warehouse clubs are now offering free technical support for consumer electronics, but it is toughening up its return policy for such items.

United Technologies Corp expects to pare costs as much as 30 percent over time on the engine it is building for the world's biggest fighter aircraft program, the board chairman told Reuters Wednesday.

John Travolta frantically tried to save his son by performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the actor told a Bahamian court on Wednesday in the trial of two people accused of attempting to extort $25 million from him.

Design glitches draw attention away from a home's best features. Don't let out-of-date fixtures and unappealing decor cost you a sale. While some buyers may actually appreciate vintage features, home and design experts say these 20 features almost always serve as a turnoff.

Lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc has a history of losses, is uncertain about its ability to generate positive cash flow -- and is the most talked-about company going public this week.

Evergreen Solar Inc has hired a new general manager for its Asia operations, Henry Ng, as the U.S. solar company prepares to expand in China, Evergreen said on Wednesday.

The U.S. credit card charge-off rate rose to a record high in August, as more Americans lost their jobs, Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday, in another sign consumers remain under stress.

REALTORS specializing in commercial real estate experienced a slowdown in sales transaction volume in 2008, but also reported an increase in commercial leasing volume, according to the 2009 National Association of REALTORS Commercial Member Profile.

Duke Energy Corp has signed a clean energy technology agreement with China's ENN Group, adding to a deal it struck last month with the country's top power provider in Duke's push to cut carbon emissions.

The Connecticut state attorney general called on AT&T Inc on Wednesday to abandon plans for 2,500 new layoffs and criticized the phone company for deteriorating services in the state.

Hummer plans to invest $9.4 million over five years and take advantage of tax credits to set up a Michigan headquarters after China's Tengzhong acquires the brand from General Motors Co, a Hummer spokesman said on Tuesday.

Fisker Automotive was awarded a $528.7 million U.S. government loan on Tuesday for development of gas-electric hybrid plug-ins.

The European Union's anti-trust chief wants to reach a deal with Microsoft Corp in a dispute over Web browsers before she leaves her post later this year, she said in an interview published on Wednesday.

The U.S. government will have issued $7 trillion in bonds by the time the current fiscal year ends next week, but it expects the debt deluge to stabilize by mid 2010, a Treasury official said on Wednesday.

South Korea's telecommunications regulator said Wednesday that Apple Inc. can sell its hit iPhone in the country, after the Korea Communications Commission lifted a ban on the popular device which may potentially shake up a cell phone market controlled by domestic manufacturers.

Amid a falling trend, the U.S. government on Thursday is expected to release its unemployment insurance weekly claims data on Thursday.

CarMax Inc (KMX.N), the largest U.S. retailer of used cars, posted strong quarterly results as the company received an unexpected boost from the cash-for-clunkers program and its finance unit recorded a one-time gain.

Magna International Inc (MGa.TO) has not lost any contracts because of its investment in Opel, a senior company executive said on Tuesday, after outlining some of the ways the Canadian auto parts supplier plans to keep the operations separate.

Oil dropped nearly 4 percent to below $69 a barrel on Wednesday after U.S. government data showed a big jump in crude and products stockpiles, stirring concerns about demand in the world's top energy consumer.

General Motors Co said on Tuesday it planned to restore about 3,000 jobs at U.S. assembly plants and related facilities and is getting set to raise North American production by up to 45 percent next year.

Cost-savings talks between Ford Motor Co's (F.N) Canadian subsidiary and the Canadian Auto Workers union continued on Wednesday, but the union said Ford had so far failed to address its key issue.

AutoNation Inc.(AN.N), the top U.S. auto dealership chain, is ready to go on offense by acquiring new stores and buying more vehicles as it bets that the battered U.S. auto market is headed for a long and steady recovery, the company's chief executive said.

Nintendo Co Ltd may cut the price of its Wii video game console by $50 to about $200, starting this weekend, according to several technology blogs.

Appeals court judges hearing the latest round of a long-running patent fight between Microsoft Corp and Toronto technology company i4i on Wednesday questioned a lower court's calculation that the software giant owed $290 million in damages to the smaller firm.

Muammar Gaddafi, in his first address to the United Nations in 40 years as Libya's autocratic ruler, on Wednesday accused major powers on the Security Council of betraying the principles of the U.N. charter.

Actress Mackenzie Phillips said in a memoir published on Wednesday that she had an incestuous affair for years with her father John Phillips, the late singer with 1960s band The Mamas & the Papas.

Former President Valery Giscard d'Estaing dashed speculation on Wednesday that he once had an affair with Lady Diana, saying his novel about a romance between a French leader and a British princess was pure fiction.

President Barack Obama pressed world leaders on Wednesday to help confront challenges ranging from the war in Afghanistan to nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea instead of expecting the United States to do it all alone.

Actor John Travolta acknowledged Wednesday that his son Jett, 16 who died in January, had autism and suffered from a seizure disorder.