IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. mortgage applications surged last week, with demand rising to its highest level since late-May as consumers sought to take advantage of the lowest interest rates in months, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

EMC Corp the world's top data storage equipment maker, said on Wednesday it planned to invest $1.5 billion in India over the next five years to mainly expand its research and development infrastructure.

The final numbers are in for Lil Wayne's 2008-2009 North American touring, and it appears the rapper will have the highest grossing hip-hop outing of the year -- and the most lucrative rap jaunt that Billboard has ever tracked.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Wednesday after a three-day run-up as commodity prices were little changed after driving the market in recent days.

Gossip columnist Army Archerd, who wrote upbeat stories about movie stars for the Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety for more than 50 years, died in a Los Angeles hospital on Tuesday, a spokeswoman said. He was 87.

President Barack Obama will be able to put his stamp on the Federal Reserve with appointments for perhaps as many as four seats on the central bank's board in coming months, even though he emphasized continuity in tapping Ben Bernanke for another term as chairman last month.

Fans of the Beatles queued on Wednesday to buy the band's collected works on a new set of discs and get their hands on an animated video game featuring some of the Fab Four's greatest hits .

President Barack Obama takes on the bitter healthcare reform debate on Wednesday with a high-stakes speech to the U.S. Congress on his top domestic policy priority.

Oil prices fell below $71 a barrel Wednesday, after rising more than $3 the previous day, as OPEC ministers were expected to maintain official output unchanged at their meeting in Vienna.

Oil prices hovered above $71 a barrel on Wednesday, after rising more than $3 the previous day, as OPEC ministers were expected at their meeting in Vienna to maintain official output unchanged.

Another global financial crisis is inevitable because human nature always reverts to speculative excesses during a period of sustained prosperity, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said.

Stock index futures pointed to a weaker open on Wednesday after a three-day run-up and commodity prices flattened after driving the market in recent days.

World stocks slipped on Wednesday as investors paused ahead of key U.S. data, having pushed them to 11-month highs the previous day, while the low-yielding dollar held near its 2009 low against the euro.

Fans of the Beatles queued on Wednesday to buy the band's collected works on a new set of discs and get their hands on an animated video game featuring some of the Fab Four's greatest hits .

Oil prices hovered above $71 a barrel on Wednesday, after rising more than $3 the previous day, as OPEC ministers were expected at their meeting in Vienna to maintain official output unchanged.

Kraft Foods Inc, which went public on Monday with a $16.7 billion offer for Cadbury PLC that the British candy maker rejected, is in talks to arrange about $8 billion of financing for the bid, Bloomberg said, citing two people familiar with the matter.

OPEC ministers were all but certain to leave output targets unchanged at a meeting late on Wednesday after the top exporter Saudi Arabia said there was no need for action.

Asian stocks drifted lower after hitting a one-year high earlier on Wednesday and the dollar was stuck near a one-year low as investors, hopeful of an economic recovery, held back from moving more money into risky assets.

Kraft played down speculation on Tuesday that it would be prepared to raise its offer for Cadbury PLC , after the British chocolate company rejected its 10.2 billion pound ($16.7 billion) offer.

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