IBT Staff Reporter

On March 11, an Egyptian ferry owner that sank in the Red Sea in 2006 was sentenced by a Cairo court to 7 years in jail.

A U.S. government plan for a public-private investment fund to buy distressed assets to help clean up banks' balance sheets is likely to generate a healthy profit for taxpayers and investors, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said on Wednesday.

Online auctioneer, eBay Inc, said Wednesday its long-term growth outlook would boost through its PayPal global online payments system business and its core marketplace business.

On Wednesday U.S. stocks continued their rise after being boosted by banks renewing investor hopes in the financial sector.

Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates is the richest man again, overtaking investor Warren Buffett, as the global financial meltdown wiped out $2 trillion from the net worth of the world's billionaires, Forbes Magazine said on Wednesday.

Toyota Motor Corp. said on Wednesday that Toyota hybrid and Lexus brands in the US will top 1.7 million sales globally through January of this year.

Freddie Mac, one of the two main U.S. mortgage companies that the U.S. government is depending on to help stabilize the housing market, said on Wednesday it needs $30.8 billion from the Treasury to survive after a massive fourth-quarter loss.

Merrill Lynch & Co may have misled Congress in representing last November that it planned to pay out bonuses at year end, when in fact it decided to accelerate those payouts, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. sold its 50 millionth ATI graphics processor for the Wii game console on Wednesday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday he sees modest signs of an economic recovery and endorsed a plan to create a U.S. systemic risk regulator.

Today, Microsoft Corp. announced new operational details of the Windows Marketplace for users of mobile devices where developers build and sell applications.

Freddie Mac, a top mortgage finance company the U.S. government is depending on to help stabilize the housing market, said on Wednesday it needs $30.8 billion from the Treasury to survive after a massive fourth-quarter loss.

Merrill Lynch & Co traders may have booked hefty losses late last year only after learning of their 2008 bonuses, but executives chose not to revisit their decision to pay out $3.62 billion of bonuses, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.

Stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday after JP Morgan Chase's chief executive said his bank was profitable in January and February, echoing comments by Citigroup's CEO a day earlier.

Stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday after JP Morgan Chase's chief executive said his bank was profitable in January and February, echoing comments by Citigroup's CEO a day earlier.

Google Inc will begin to aim online ads at people based on their Web browsing history, joining an industry trend that has raised privacy concerns even as it makes product pitches more effective.

EBay Inc, struggling to compete in a crowded and slowing e-commerce market, envisions a remaking the company by galvanizing growth at its nascent PayPal payments system, its top executive said on Wednesday.

Private equity company Blackstone Group LP CEO Stephen Schwarzman said on Tuesday that up to 45 percent of the world's wealth has been destroyed by the global credit crisis.

AT&T plans to purchase more than $500 million in vehicles running on alternative fuels over the next 10 years, with many of them coming from U.S. auto makers.

Oil fell more than 7 percent to $42 per barrel on Wednesday on further signs of weak global demand and rising inventories in top consumer the United States.

Not long ago, Americans were being offered as much as $100 just to sign up for a credit card. Now, up to $300 is being dangled as an incentive for them to give up their plastic. U.S. credit card issues are slashing rewards, raising interest rates and increasing fees as loan losses mount.

AT&T Inc will spend $565 million over 10 years to replace or buy about 15,000 vehicles in its corporate fleet with cars and other vehicles that run on alternative fuels, the company said on Wednesday.

AT&T Inc will spend $565 million over 10 years to replace or buy about 15,000 vehicles in its corporate fleet with cars and other vehicles that run on alternative fuels, the company said on Wednesday.

The top U.S. and Chinese diplomats have their share of work cut out for them as they strive to reconcile differences between the two nations following the weekend naval confrontation.

Some former customers of financier Bernard Madoff despise him for his fraud, but they are also angry with their government and a financial system they say robbed them of their savings.

Low-cost long-haul flights have returned to the UK with the launch of Air Asia X services from London to Kuala Lumpur.

Australia has pledged to provide $6.4m to Zimbabwe to help provide clean water and draw health professionals back into the system, becoming the first Western country to announce the aid.

Bank of America Corp has put a private bank it inherited from Merrill Lynch & Co on the block, and the largest U.S. bank may try to sell other assets as well.

Oil fell 5 percent to below $44 on Wednesday on further signs of weak global demand and rising inventories in top consumer the United States.