IBT Staff Reporter

Fashion sales fell victim to consumer cutbacks during the holidays and no respite is in sight this year, but upscale store chain Saks Inc and off-price retailer TJX Cos Inc signaled to investors they were working hard to weather the storm.

On Wednesday at Apple Inc. annual shareholder meeting, an Apple director responded to an investor saying that co-founder and CEO, Steve Jobs is still expected to return from his medical leave at the end of June, the Associated Press reported.

Two money managers who oversaw investments for Carnegie Mellon University and other institutions were arrested on Wednesday on charges of running an estimated $550 million, decade-long swindle, the latest in a wave of big financial fraud cases.

Surrounded by wreckage and many destroyed buildings and infrastructure, Palestinians are now seeking to rebuild the destroyed territory and seeking roughly $2.8 billion in foreign aid.

President Barack Obama called on Wednesday for a sweeping overhaul of Wall Street regulations, saying big changes were needed to avoid a repeat of the financial meltdown.

although that part of the law is seen as something of a gray area. (Editing by Edwin Chan, editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Bernard Orr)

Major companies in the oil industry pushed the U.S. Congress Wednesday for the permanently lifting of a moratoria that blocks them from drilling offshore and reach tremendous amounts of oil and gas resources.

On Wednesday the UN-backed Sierra Leone war crimes court convicted three former rebel leaders of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during one of the most brutal civil wars in modern history.

U.S. Internet firm Yahoo Inc is not opposed to doing a deal that would potentially sell its search business, Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said on Wednesday

General Motors Corp saw its fourth-quarter sales drop 26 percent and ended the year desperately short of cash and dependent on a $13.4-billion government lifeline to remain in business. So when the automaker reports fourth-quarter financial results on Wednesday, investors will be looking beyond the bad news for an update on its survival plan. The key to valuing GM's shares and debt i...

U.S. banking regulators on Wednesday launched a stress test program to assess the largest banks' ability cope with the possibility of a deeper recession in which the unemployment rate climbs above 10 percent next year.

A former municipal banker at Bear, Stearns & Co, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to fraud involving hospital financing that is part of a wide-ranging probe of government corruption in Illinois.

Stocks fell on Wednesday after President Barack Obama warned of stricter oversight for Wall Street, raising the specter of greater regulation that investors fear could sap profits.

The world's top mobile phone maker Nokia is eyeing entering the laptop business, its Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in an interview to Finnish national broadcaster YLE on Wednesday. We are looking very actively also at this opportunity, Kallasvuo said, when asked whether Nokia plans to make laptops. Industry has rumored about Nokia's possible plan to enter the PC industry since la...

The Australian Dollar opens a shade weaker today at 0.6468 but remains entrenched in its recent broad range between 0.6350 and 0.6550. The Aussie hit an overnight high of 0.6554 – a level which is proving a tough one to break. Despite further poor economic data out of the United States last night, this time in the form of a 12-year low in existing home sales, the Aussie was caught up in moves lower by the Euro and Yen.

a feature aimed at encouraging banks to redeem the shares or replace government capital with private capital.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as more weak housing data reinforced fears about the economy, while banks weakened in late trading after the government launched tests to gauge their ability to withstand a long and deep recession. * Sales of previously owned U.S. homes plunged much more than expected January, pulling homebuilders down 2.1 percent. * After a choppy session that saw indexes swing both ...

Oil prices jumped 6 percent to above $42 a barrel on Wednesday, after a U.S. government report showed a sharp drop in gasoline inventories in the world's top consumer.

the massive concrete barrier separating Israel from the Palestinians. Over the Internet, a group of Palestinian graffiti artists is offering to spray-paint your personal message on Israel's towering security wall in the occupied West Bank. It costs 30 euros ($40) per message and they can be as solemn or wacky as you want. Everything goes, except for obscene, offensive or extremist hate speech. Cl...

Large majorities of Americans support U.S. President Barack Obama's plans to revive the economy and his efforts to work across party lines, according to a pair of public opinion polls released on Monday.

although that part of the law is seen as something of a gray area. Still, the mood at Wednesday's annual meeting was casual. Shareholders joined in a Happy Birthday chorus for Jobs, who was absent but turned 54 on Tuesday. In 2004, Jobs was treated for a rare type of pancreatic cancer. He appeared gaunt at an Apple event in June 2008, touching off speculation that his cancer had returned. The...

Stocks fell on Wednesday as investors were hit by a report showing yet more deterioration in the housing market, while uncertainty about Washington's plans to shore up the banking system persisted. President Barack Obama's first address to Congress offered few new insights on government plans to stabilize the economy and shore up banks. Investors sold off shares of financial services companies a...

Netflix Inc Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy said on Wednesday it plans to offer its online streaming service on a stand-alone basis.

Netflix Inc Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy said on Wednesday it plans to offer its online streaming service on a stand-alone basis. We're likely to do that in the foreseeable future, McCarthy said at the Jefferies 5th annual Internet and Media conference in New York. Netflix customers currently pay a fixed monthly subscription fee for access to the company's popular by-mail DVD servi...

although that part of the law is seen as something of a gray area. Still, the mood at Wednesday's annual meeting was casual. Shareholders joined in a Happy Birthday chorus for Jobs, who was absent but turned 54 on Tuesday. In 2004, Jobs was treated for a rare type of pancreatic cancer. He appeared gaunt at an Apple event in June 2008, touching off speculation that his cancer had returned. The...

Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs remains deeply involved in company decisions despite relinquishing control over daily operations, company executives said on Wednesday.

Apple Inc's chief executive Steve Jobs remains deeply involved in company decisions despite relinquishing control over daily operations, company executives said on Wednesday.

Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs remains deeply involved in company decisions despite relinquishing control over daily operations, company executives said on Wednesday. Facing a prolonged recession and drought in consumer spending, Apple has been unable to shake questions regarding the future of its charismatic CEO, who has been on medical leave and out of public view for more than a month. J...

Google's e-mail service, Gmail, was smacked with an outage lasting two and half hours yesterday morning. However, Google responded to it quickly.