IBT Staff Reporter

Virent Energy Systems, which hopes to make gasoline-like fuel from plant sugars, expects to raise $25 million to $40 million by the end of the year in its third round of financing, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday.

General Motors Corp will do the heavy lifting to help meet the ambitious goal set by President Barack Obama of having one million plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015, a GM executive said on Tuesday.

Stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday with the Federal Reserve expected to say it will not raise interest rates for some time.

Apple Inc chief executive Steve Jobs underwent a liver transplant at a Tennessee hospital and has an excellent prognosis, the hospital that performed the operation confirmed on Tuesday.

American International Group Inc's plans to sell its broker-dealer business, AIG Advisor Group, are facing hurdles, the New York Post said.

Russia's Gazprom expected gas demand to pick up in Europe from April, its export chief said on Wednesday, rebuffing accusations that rigid pricing was to blame for an expected 40 percent plunge in export sales in 2009.

Citigroup Inc intends to raise employees' base salaries by as much as 50 percent this year to offset smaller annual bonuses, the New York Times said, citing people with direct knowledge of the plan.

IBM named one of its executives, a former Morgan Stanley banker, to be its new head of mergers and acquisitions on Tuesday after losing its chief dealmaker to rival Dell Inc, which is beefing up its acquisition efforts.

China on Wednesday rejected U.S. and European charges that its restrictions on raw materials exports violate international trade rules, saying that its policies were in keeping with WTO regulations.

Stock futures pointed to a slightly stronger start for Wall Street on Wednesday, ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and accompanying statement.

A severe U.S. recession will bottom out this year, but any recovery will be weak due to anemic markets and shrunken consumer wealth, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Wednesday.

The dollar hit its lowest in nearly two weeks against a basket of currencies and global stocks edged up from five-week lows ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting expected to dampen expectations for higher rates.

Tens of thousands of mobile users in Bangladesh's flood and cyclone-prone areas will now receive advance warning of an impending natural disaster through an alert on their cell phones, a government official says.

Oil slid back below $69 a barrel on Wednesday, reversing a 2.6 percent gain the day before, after data showed a surge in U.S. gasoline stocks, signaling weaker-than-expected demand from the world's top energy user.

The outspoken head of a U.S. Congressional watchdog panel will strongly urge lawmakers on Wednesday to set up a new government agency to protect consumers from tricks and traps set by banks.

Asian stocks bounced up on Wednesday from a one-month low hit the previous day while the dollar drifted, with investors bracing for a Federal Reserve decision and any signs the central bank is worried about the jump in U.S. bond yields.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, urged on by President Barack Obama, announced progress on Tuesday toward quick passage of legislation to fight global warming by reducing industrial emissions of carbon dioxide.

One of China's best known dissidents, Liu Xiaobo, has been formally arrested on suspicion of inciting subversion, following his detention late last year for promoting a petition calling for an end to one-party rule.

North Korea's nuclear ambitions area serious concern for Beijing and should be addressed through further dialogue, a senior Chinese military officer said on Wednesday after talks with Pentagon officials.

The Pentagon will create a Cyber Command to oversee the U.S. military's efforts to protect its computer networks and operate in cyberspace, under an order signed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday.

A security crackdown appears to have quelled street rallies against Iran's disputed poll, but the leadership faced a new challenge on Wednesday from calls by reformist clerics for national mourning for dead protesters.

Apple Inc chief executive Steve Jobs underwent a liver transplant at a Tennessee hospital and has an excellent prognosis, the hospital that performed the operation confirmed on Tuesday.

Asian stocks inched up on Wednesday from a one-month low hit the previous day while the dollar drifted, with investors bracing for a Federal Reserve decision and any signs the central bank is worried about the jump in U.S. bond yields.

A major union this week called on Morgan Stanley to reverse recent salary hikes for senior executives and other top earners, the Wall Street Journal said citing a letter from the union.

(Billboard) - A new NPD Group study finds that active Twitter users buy 77 percent more digital music downloads on average than non-users. Additionally, 12 percent of those who have bought music in the last three months also report having used Twitter, versus 8 percent of overall Web users.

Four student unions said Tuesday they were planning to stage protests outside the British embassy in protest at London's alleged interference in Iranian affairs.

JPMorgan tops a list of the world's strongest banks, while Royal Bank of Scotland suffered the biggest loss of any lender last year, according to new industry rankings on Wednesday.

Chinese Government hasn’t back down on its mandate about inclusion of web filtration on all PC to be produce starting July 1.

Nokia signed agreement enabling Intel to license HSPA/3G Modem Technologies