UNITED STATES

President Obama delivered his 2012 State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, making a bid for 2012 reelection. In a sweeping speech, the President touched upon issues like taxes, the economy, manufacturing and keeping the American dream alive. Though the current State of the Union is quite shaky, Obama highlighted the progress being made and attempted to solidify a sturdy campaign base.

Roche Holding AG is offering $5.7 billion in cash to buy U.S. gene sequencing company Illumina Inc in an unfriendly takeover bid that marks a major play by the Swiss drugmaker into the gene technology field.

Brent crude slipped below $110 on Wednesday as recession fears, partly rekindled by stalled Greek debt talks, weighed on the outlook for demand, while threats by Iran to respond to European sanctions by shutting a vital trade route supported prices.

The euro and European shares weakened on Wednesday as fears about the prospect of a Greek debt default overwhelmed positive news on the outlook for Germany, the region's largest economy.

SAP, the world's biggest maker of business software, was upbeat on its topline growth this year citing its investment in new technologies and robust corporate spending.

Ericsson, the world's biggest maker of equipment for mobile phone networks, stunned markets with a 50 percent drop in quarterly profit, adding to signs from the corporate world that economic growth may be grinding to a halt.

Japan first annual trade deficit in more than 30 years calls into question how much longer the country can rely on exports to help finance a huge public debt without having to turn to fickle foreign investors.

Citigroup Inc said it may make further cuts in its securities and banking unit in 2012 if revenue does not pick up meaningfully, as the prospect of more layoffs looms large over investment banks globally.

Gold prices struggled Wednesday to hold recent gains as the dollar rose and investors awaited results of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting on interest rates.

Citigroup Inc may consider further restructuring of its securities and banking unit if the business does not see meaningful revenue recovery over the course of 2012, Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said on a conference call.

Kim Dotcom, the founder of file-sharing site Megaupload.com who faces a lengthy jail term in the United States if convicted of racketeering, money laundering and Internet piracy, seems to have a mischievous sense of humor.

Even before U.S. President Barack Obama made his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney released a pre-buttal to his speech, warning the President would use the platform to divide the nation with a biased speech targeting the general elections. As it turned out, Obama did use the platform to deliver a speech aimed at November's general elections and although he never singled out or named his Republican opponents, he did take several jabs at M...

A group of consumer advocates, academics and economists want to end too-big-to-fail banks, starting with Bank of America Corp.

Booming demand for the latest iPhone model helped Apple beat all phones using Google's Android platform in the U.S. smartphone market in the fourth quarter, data showed on Wednesday.

World No.1 mobile equipment maker Ericsson saw its profit halve in the fourth quarter as the global economic slowdown hit demand, and forecast network operators would remain cautious on spending in the months ahead.

European shares and the single currency held firm on Wednesday as investor focus switched to the broader economic outlook and some strong results from leading U.S. companies, and away from worries about the stalemate in Greek debt talks.

The rupee was little changed in narrow-band trade on Wednesday as month-end dollar demand from oil importers offset positive local shares.

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG offered about $5.7 billion in cash to buy U.S. gene sequencing device maker Illumina Inc , in a potentially hostile takeover bid to boost its position in life sciences and diagnostics.

Asian shares rose on Wednesday, underpinned by strong earnings from U.S. technology giant Apple, stabilizing European money markets and falling eurozone debt yields, with investors shifting their focus from Europe to the U.S. Federal Reserve.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday that combining the European Union's temporary EFSF rescue fund with its permanent ESM mechanism would help restore confidence in the flagging region and provide a solid firewall to the Greek crisis.

Apple Inc's quarterly results blew past Wall Street's expectations after U.S. consumers snapped up near-unprecedented numbers of iPhones and iPads, sending its shares up 8 percent into record territory.