IBT Staff Reporter

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp posted a 47 percent drop in operating income on Wednesday because of falling advertising revenue at its television stations, newspapers and other businesses.

Wells Fargo & Co on Wednesday said it is freezing its cash-balance pension plan for all employees, and has issued layoff notices to 548 workers in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, the former home of Wachovia Corp.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc merged its microprocessor and graphics chip businesses on Wednesday, its latest effort to adjust its structure and claw back market share lost to larger rival Intel Corp.

U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday will likely show the pace of lay-offs eased in April, potentially adding fuel to a two-month stock market rally even though the jobless rate looks set to hit a 25-year high.

Cisco Systems Inc posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results and Chief Executive John Chambers said some customers were seeing stabilization for the first time in many quarters.

President Barack Obama warned on Wednesday of more violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but said his government was still committed to defeating al Qaeda, while trying to avoid civilian deaths on those countries.

Channel, a dachshund mix, is going to be celebrating her 21st birthday which is equal to 120 years in human years according to her veterinarian.

The U.S. Department of Energy declared it will allocate funds for cutting-edge nuclear energy research and development projects to advance the agency’s effort fight climate change and produce U.S.-based energy sources.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after a private-sector reading on the labor market signaled unemployment may be receding and leaked bank stress test results suggested most banks are healthier than previously thought.

T-Mobile announced on Wednesday that it will start rolling out the official Android 1.5 (aka Cupcake) update to G1 users starting at the end of next week, ending weeks of speculation.

The great zombie swine flu hoax of 2009 had the Twitterati briefly in uproar.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp posted a 47 percent drop in operating income on Wednesday because of falling advertising revenue at its television stations, newspapers and other businesses.

The number of U.S. home owners that have mortgage debts that are higher than the actual value of the property, has reached approximately 33 percent, according to online real estate service, Zillow.com

The White House has for the past eight years commemorated the National Day of Prayer with a service in the East Room, this year however will be different as President Obama decided against holding a public ceremony.

The pace of private-sector U.S. job losses slowed dramatically last month, while future planned layoffs also declined, and the hard-hit housing sector showed signs of improvement last week.

Picking over the carcasses of bankrupt companies is tempting for private equity firms, but the more traditional buyout shops are showing caution bidding on assets entangled in the courts, experts say.

Cisco Systems Inc., world's largest maker of computer networking gear, says earnings fell 21 percent in its latest quarter, but results managed to surpass analyst' estimates.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after a private sector reading on the labor market signaled unemployment may be receding and leaked bank stress test results suggested most banks are healthier than thought.

Foreign journalists detained as China preparing 1st anniversary of Sichuan earthquake

Renault unveiled today in France its new prototype electric vehicle, the Kangoo be bop Z.E.

Oil major Shell said on Wednesday it has formally withdrawn a three-year plan for energy exploration in Alaska's Beaufort Sea after it was stymied by environmental litigation.

Ford Motor Co's restructuring is on track and the automaker has sufficient liquidity to fund the plan, which includes converting plants and investing in future products, company executives said on Wednesday.

Twelve million new zombie computers have been hijacked by cyber-criminals since January, according to a report by anti-virus software company McAfee.

A Senate committee on Wednesday adopted language that would create a special bank within the Energy Department to dole out government loans and loan guarantees for clean energy projects using advanced technology.

The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Wednesday, led by bank shares, after media reports suggesting some major banks, including JP Morgan Chase & Co , won't have to raise capital under government stress tests.

Web-based business software sales are growing briskly, even as most of the industry stalls, as the segment pioneered by Salesforce.com Inc benefits from the weak economy and fading concerns about security.

A price valuation of $2 billion would be low for Skype, the chief executive of parent eBay Inc said on Wednesday.

Oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, which produces about 25 percent of domestic oil production and 15 percent of natural gas output, could boom more than 1.8 million barrels per day by 2013, according to the government research, however its natural gas will likely to decrease.

Oil settled above $56 a barrel on Wednesday, as a surprise drop in U.S. gasoline and a slowdown in private sector job losses in April boosted hopes for a turnaround in the economy.