IBT Staff Reporter

Ford Motor Company said today it will invest $550 million to transform a former light trucks plant in Michigan to a modern-green facility to produce fuel-efficient small cars such as the next generation Focus and its battery-electric version.

Wind and solar energy projects currently proposed for lands owned by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management will be ready for construction by the end of 2010, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said.

U.S. mortgage applications rose last week even as interest rates jumped to their highest levels since mid-March, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

Art buyers from across the Middle East crowded Christie's auction room in Dubai, bidding briskly to bag a bargain as prices fall in the global downturn.

The Dow and S&P 500 rose more than 1 percent to session highs on Wednesday, boosted by a surge in bank stocks following media reports on stress test results that suggested bank capital shortfalls might be less than previously expected.

Home values in the United States extended their fall in the first quarter, with more than one in five homeowners now owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, real estate website Zillow.com said on Wednesday.

Tiffany & Co (TIF.N) said on Friday it is buying bankrupt U.S. handbag maker Lambertson Truex as the high-end jeweler seeks to expand its array of leather goods.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved bidding procedures for the rapid sale of most of Chrysler's assets, over objections from a group of lenders who called the accelerated timetable an absurdity.

Luxury boat makers are trying to survive the global financial storm by slashing prices and creating bargains for millionaires looking to play off Asia's coastlines.

The new

More than twenty of the largest subprime mortgage lenders relied on financing from U.S. banks that are now relying on billions of dollars in rescue funds, a report release on Wednesday concludes.

The US Navy on Wednesday unveiled its fastest, hi-tech and aggressive ship that chases pirates known as USS Freedom.

Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday introduced a larger souped-up version of its Kindle electronic reader designed for students, academics and newspaper readers.

The Dow and S&P 500 gained on Wednesday on economic optimism spurred by a jump in bank shares as investors bet that capital shortfalls will be manageable, plus reassuring labor market data and Walt Disney's better-than-expected profit.

Amazon.com Inc introduced on Wednesday a larger, souped-up version of its Kindle electronic reader designed for students, academics and newspaper readers, but its $489 price tag could cap sales.

Oil rose above $56 a barrel on Wednesday, after news that private sector job losses slowed in April and government data showing an unexpected drawdown in gasoline stocks last week boosted hopes for a turnaround in the economy.

Stocks extended gains and the Nasdaq trimmed losses on Wednesday as financial shares gained a day before the release of stress test results while energy shares rose in sync with oil prices' 4 percent jump.

The European Commission Tuesday launched a new tool the eYouGuide to stimulate consumer's shopping online and give practical advice on the digital rights consumers have under EU law.

The Federal Government of Mexico has used all available tools to cope with the contingency of flu outbreak and took aggressive measures to restore economy confidence, the Finance Secretary said Tuesday at a press conference.

The Dow and S&P 500 gained on Wednesday on reassuring labor market data and Walt Disney's better-than-expected profit, while the Nasdaq dipped as investors took profits on Apple and other bellwether names.

Palm Inc said on Wednesday that Canada's Bell Mobility would start selling its upcoming Pre smartphone in the second half of this year.

Amazon on Wednesday launched a next generation Kindle, an e-reader with a large, textbook, magazine and newspaper-friendly screen called the DX.

American International Group Inc is expected to post a first-quarter net loss of about $5 billion when it reports results on Thursday, much lower than the record hit it took in the previous quarter, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Regulators have told Bank of America Corp it needs $34 billion of capital to withstand a deep economic downturn, as the U.S. government prepares to release results of industrywide stress tests.

The Mexican capital began to stir back to life on Wednesday with the streets again clogged with traffic and taco vendors working the sidewalks after authorities lifted a five-day shutdown to try to contain the deadly H1N1 flu.

Facebookers could soon receive a rather strange friend request from a new kind of “friend”, a robot.

U.S. regional airlines, ExpressJet Holdings Inc and SkyWest Inc said on Wednesday their first-quarter results were weakened by shrinking travel demand in the recession.

Planned layoffs at U.S. firms fell for a third consecutive month in April, hitting their lowest since last October and providing yet another sign that the world's largest economy may be bottoming out.

Australian Dollar: In what has been a tumultuous 24 hour period the Aussie dollar survived an Asian sell off yesterday to an intraday low of 0.7335 to bounce back in dramatic fashion during offshore trade.