IBT Staff Reporter

Gunmen attacked a police headquarters in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Wednesday, setting off a car-bomb that killed at least 22 people in what the government said was revenge for an offensive against the Taliban.

General Motors Corp said on Wednesday that a crucial bond exchange proposal failed to gain enough support and that its board of directors would meet to review the automaker's options, clearing the path for what would be the largest U.S. industrial bankruptcy ever.

North Korea, facing international censure for this week's nuclear test, threatened on Wednesday to attack the South after it joined a U.S.-led plan to check vessels suspected of carrying equipment for weapons of mass destruction.

President Barack Obama's pick of Sonia Sotomayor to join the Supreme Court will trigger a battle in the Senate over what conservatives called her liberal positions, but she is likely to prevail.

Colombian ethanol output is expected to more than double to 2.42 million liters a day by the end of 2009 as new projects come onstream, Agriculture Minister Andres Fernandez Acosta said on Wednesday.

Microsoft users that were trying to log into Xbox Live on Wednesday were greeted with an error message.

Volkswagen AG signed a memorandum of understanding last week with the Chinese firm BYD to consider options for partnership in the area of hybrids and electric vehicles powered by lithium batteries.

Fuel cells maker Proton Power Systems Plc said on Wednesday its Proton Motor GmbH unit had signed a five-year agreement with contract manufacturer Deutsche Mechatronics GmbH for bulk production of its fuel cell systems in Germany.

Sales of U.S. existing homes rose in April compared with the previous month, economists polled by Reuters forecast.

BP Solar will join forces with SolarEdge to test new products designed to help solar modules operate more efficiently in harvesting the sun's rays, the companies said on Wednesday.

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wednesday as General Motors inched closer to bankruptcy and investors await a key report on the housing market.

The global market for carbon emissions trading doubled in value last year, but actual realised emissions cuts fell as the global economic slowdown dented clean energy financing, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

A Russian Soyuz rocket with three astronauts on board blasted off from Kazakhstan on Wednesday for the International Space Station, where they are set to raise the labs crew to six for the first time.

Bank of America Corporation announced Wednesday it was “well on its way” to reaching the $33.9 billion indicated Supervisory Capital Assessment Program (SCAP) buffer set by the Federal Reserve after it raised almost $26 billion to date.

General Electric Co aims to boost its investment in clean-tech research and development to $1.5 billion a year by 2010, the largest U.S. conglomerate said on Wednesday in its annual Ecomagination report.

U.S. automaker Chrysler LLC said on Tuesday it submitted proposals totaling $448 million to the U.S. Department of Energy to research and develop electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid models.

Top office products retailer Staples Inc reported slightly higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday, bolstered by its Corporate Express unit.

Bidders for German carmaker Opel are being pressed to make last-minute changes to their offers ahead of a meeting on Wednesday that could narrow the field of potential investors in the General Motors unit.

Bidders for German carmaker Opel are being pressed to make last-minute changes to their offers ahead of a meeting on Wednesday that could narrow the field of potential investors in the General Motors unit.

Cannibalization of laptop computer sales by lower-priced netbooks is currently about 20 percent, less than speculation, Intel's European sales chief told Reuters on the fringes of a company event.

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed to higher open on Wednesday as investors await key housing data which may bolster optimism the recession is abating.

World stocks rose and oil prices hit a 2009 high on Wednesday, while the yen fell after improving consumer confidence in the United States and Europe boosted expectations the global economy is starting to recover.

The U.S. recession is set to end soon, but continued job losses and plunging house prices point to an economic recovery that will be more moderate than those experienced in previous downturns, a survey showed.

Technology outsourcing and consulting firm Accenture Ltd plans to change its place of incorporation to Ireland from Bermuda, following an exodus of large multinational companies to Europe as the U.S. government plans to tighten tax rules.

About 15 percent of homes in Britain have Internet broadband access under 2 Megabits per second , the minimum speed envisaged by the government for the whole country, research shows.

Stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open for U.S. shares on Wednesday, building on strong gains made in the previous session, when consumer confidence data fueled hopes of an economic recovery.

The German government is due to decide on Wednesday which bidder or bidders it prefers as a partner for the Opel unit of struggling U.S. carmaker General Motors, and could agree to provide aid for the firm.

Global Leveraged Capital, a private investment firm, said on Wednesday it is launching a new restructuring advisory group that will bring a different approach to fundraising at a time when struggling companies have little access to the credit markets.

The supervisory board of General Motors' Opel unit is holding an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday morning to decide on the German carmaker's legal separation from its U.S.-based parent company, a person familiar with the matter said.