IBT Staff Reporter

Chinese Food and Drug regulators said pharmaceutical Baxter International Inc. did not fully co-operate in an investigation to address the case of the blood thinner heparin to which 81 deaths are linked due to the presence of a chemical contaminant.

French oil company Total SA said Wednesday its first-quarter net profit jumped 18 percent as record oil prices made up for the weak dollar and a drop in refining margins.

Satellite television service provider DirectTV reported that profit grew 10.4 percent during the first quarter, beating analysts' estimates.

Microsoft will invest $280 million to establish a Research and Development(R&D) Building in Zhongguancun, Beijing, and double the staff within three to five years to reach 3,000 the company said today.

Cablevision announced that its programming unit agreed to buy the Sundance Channel, the network founded by actor Robert Redford, in a deal worth $496 million.

Gold fell for the first time in four sessions on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened against the euro and other major currencies.

America Movil, the largest cell phone operator in Mexico confirmed in a statement on Wednesday it reached a deal with Apple to distribute the iPhone in Latin America.

Microsoft's bankers approached Facebook about a takeover of the social networking site, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest version of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s gangland video game, raked in more than $500 million in sales during its first week in stores, selling more than 6 million units.

Thames Water on Wednesday announced its plan to prevent water shortages in the future and put a stop to hosepipe bans and other water restrictions.

Crude futures fell slightly on Wednesday after a report showed U.S. crude inventories rose more than analysts expected the week ended May 2.

U.S stocks fell on Wednesday for the second day this week after reports showed home sales fell in March and oil prices remained in higher territory.

For many, the sight of a bird’s eggs hatching or tulips blooming signifies the arrival of spring. Historically, spring is also the time for rising gasoline prices. Over the last 10 years, the monthly average retail price for regular-grade

Sprint Nextel and Clearwire said it will combine their wireless broadband units to build nationwide wireless network to provide high-speed Internet connections for laptops and cellphones.

Tokyo stocks closed higher Wednesday as optimism over the U.S. economic outlook and the U.S. dollar's strength against the yen during a four-day holiday in Japan spurred buying.

U.S. officials detained a senior banker at Swiss bank UBS as part of an investigation to see if the bank helped its American clients evade taxes, the Financial Times reported.

Dollar drifted lower against the euro yesterday and closed at 1.5529 (1.5491)

Sterling closed marginally higher against the dollar yesterday while the market players awaited Thursday s key Central Bank policy meetings when the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will announce the results of interest rate policy meetings.

The dollar fell versus the euro on Tuesday after the biggest U.S. mortgage financing company, Fannie Mae, reported a bigger than expected first quarter loss.

China's Industry and Information Ministry issued statistics showing the country's total import and export volume of electronic information products reached $201 billion dollars in the first quarter, of which exports to $115.9 billion, accounting for 37.9 percent of the country's total export volume of foreign trade.

Chennai-based business conglomerate, Murugappa Group said it has set aside Rs.1300 crore ($325 million) in the current fiscal towards business expansion.

Malaysia's top mobile phone operator, Maxis Communications, said it will invest $4-5 billion over the next 2-3 years to expand its business operations in India.

Mukesh Ambani, the world's fifth richest man with a net worth of $43 billion, has set a new record - owning a home worth a whopping $2 billion.

Nasscom or National Association of Software and Services Companies, the consortium that serves as the apex body of the Indian IT software and BPO industry, together with global management consulting firm AT Kearney has released a comprehensive assessment report of 50 locations in India suitable for the IT - BPO industry titled 'Location Roadmap For IT- BPO Growth: Assessment Of 50 Leading Cities.'

Sensex, the prime index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) continued its downslide on Tuesday, declining 0.67 percent on profit booking as investors continued to remain wary of global market developments.

China, having the biggest population in the world, has sufficient grain reserves, helping keep the price of grain stable despite global market surging, China officials said.

The FTSE 100 share index dropped marginally by 0.3 points to 6,215.2, on Tuesday.

Vanco Plc requested on Tuesday that the Financial Services Authority suspend trading in its securities pending clarification of its financial position.

Bovis Homes said on Tuesday that conditions in the housing market had deteriorated sharply in recent times, and that as a result the company expected its results for the first half of 2008 to be significantly lower than previously expected.