IBT Staff Reporter

British bank Barclays, which snapped up Lehman Brothers' U.S. business a year ago, aims to be a consistent top-five player in U.S. equities and says it is not done with expanding there.

Only 12 percent of U.S. homeowners eligible for loan modifications under the Obama administration's housing rescue plan have had their mortgages reworked, and millions more foreclosures are coming, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

Stocks rose on Wednesday after positive broker comments buoyed the industrial sector, while the falling dollar pushed up oil prices and shares of energy producers.

Oil prices rose above $72 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time this month as a falling dollar spurred investors to buy commodities as a hedge against inflation.

At least 23 people were killed when floods swept the Turkish city of Istanbul, swamping houses, turning highways into fast-flowing rivers and drowning seven women in a minibus that was taking them to work.

McDonald's Corp's August sales at existing restaurants rose 2.2 percent globally, missing analysts' target, as strength in Europe partly offset weakness in the United States and other parts of the world.

In recent years, most Americans have regarded Labor Day as a vacation day at the end of summer. However the history of Labor Day and what the day represents should not be forgotten.

The Palm Pixie was unveiled on Wednesday, just ahead of Apples big music event 09/09/09 and one of the main distinct differences the Pixie has compared to its predecessor, the Palm Pre, is that it has a full qwerty keyboard.

Many couples wanting to get hitched have waited for the 9-9-09, some chose this date with belief that it brings along luck while others have simply chosen the date to help them remember their anniversary later.

Nokia Oyj plans to skip tailoring software of its upcoming top-of-the-range model N900 to different operators, raising the risk some carriers, who focus on integrating their own software, could refuse to offer the model.

The head of U.S. bank Goldman Sachs said on Wednesday that anger over bankers' pay was understandable and appropriate, and that greater scrutiny of trade in complex instruments was needed to keep banks in check.

Myanmar's military regime is stepping up efforts to show its neighbors that armed ethnic separatists on its border are under control after violent clashes that sent thousands of refugees pouring into China.

Iran handed a package of proposals to world powers on Wednesday, as it came under renewed Western pressure to swiftly engage in meaningful talks to resolve the dispute over its nuclear program.

Israeli media reports said on Wednesday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited Moscow on Monday in a bid to dissuade Russia from selling weapons to Iran.

Zombie master George A. Romero had no particular conflict in mind when making Survival of the Dead, the sixth installment in his long-running horror franchise, but rather discrimination in general.

Palm Inc on Wednesday announced a lower-priced smartphone in the same family as its popular Palm Pre, although the move may be overshadowed by rival product launches by Motorola and Apple.

Lawyers in a $586 million settlement of IPO litigation stemming from the demise of the Internet stocks bubble want to be paid $245 million, nearly three times the average for such large settlements, according to court papers filed on Tuesday.

Incumbent Hamid Karzai defended last month's Afghan presidential election as honest on Wednesday, a day after returns showed him on course to win in a single round but a U.N-backed panel also ordered a partial recount over fraud.

Brazilian technology services provider Tivit and stockholders filed on Wednesday to sell up to 785 million reais ($430 million) in an initial public offering, the company's third attempt to go public.

Jermaine Jackson denied on Wednesday rumors that other members of the Jackson family oppose the concert he plans to stage in Vienna later this month in memory of his brother Michael.

President Barack Obama puts himself squarely into the center of the debate over U.S. healthcare reform, his top domestic policy priority, with a high-stakes address to Congress Wednesday.

Swiss bank Julius Baer started moves to list its U.S. asset management arm Artio in New York, cashing in on higher equities markets to provide a timely boost for its acquisition war chest.

Germany expects General Motors to pay back a 1.5 billion euro loan made to help Opel if GM keeps its European unit, Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck was quoted as saying in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday.

Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co Inc posted an almost six-fold jump in quarterly profit, boosted by strong generic sales, sending its shares up 19 percent in pre-market trade.

Unless you're just counting down the days till you can quit, chances are, you want to do well in your job. Perhaps you're making an effort to manage your time well in the office, to network with colleagues, and to bring energy and enthusiasm to your projects.

Even after a news conference gave out names of the buyers planning to purchase a 46 percent stake in Kuwaiti telecom Zain, questions still surround the $13.7 billion deal.

U.S. investment fund Lone Star LS.UL has been unable to get the green light from creditors for its planned acquisition of a failed Japanese real estate investment trust (REIT), the second time the deal has been blocked, rival bidder BLife Investment said.

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), parent of Asia's largest oil and gas producer PetroChina, said it secured a $30 billion state loan to fund overseas expansion, as Beijing seeks to secure resources for the world's fastest-growing major economy.

Vivendi is offering 2 billion euros ($2.9 billion) for Brazilian telecom operator GVT in a move that puts it head-to-head with Telefonica in Latin America's biggest market and could spark a counterbid.