UNITED STATES

Corrects paragraph 3 to show that National Broadband Plan will be released March 16, not March 17; changes headline for space consideration

(Corrects that National Broadband Plan will be released March 17, not March 16 in paragraph 3)

The top U.S. communications regulator offered to pay television broadcasters to give up their rights to airwaves worth an estimated $50 billion as it looks to overcome a looming scarcity of wireless spectrum for advanced mobile phone services.

Securities regulators on Wednesday delayed plans to allow domestic companies to use international accounting standards because it will take businesses at least four years to switch to new rules.

General Motors Co will wind down its iconic but tarnished Hummer brand after Chinese regulators rejected a $150 million bid by an obscure Chinese machinery maker to buy the money-losing SUV line.

ral Motors Co will wind down its Hummer SUV line after failing to complete a deal to sell the brand to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, the automaker said on Wednesday.

Top executives at two of the five largest U.S. airlines said on Tuesday they are open to a merger, adding that the airline industry needs to consolidate to return to profitability.

General Growth Properties Inc unveiled a bankruptcy exit plan bankrolled by Brookfield Asset Management that would split it in two.

The Carlyle Group aims to invest most of its Asia-focused funds on deals in China.

A Manhattan federal judge gave final approval to Bank of America Corp's $150 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Australian Dollar opens marginally higher today at 0.8920. It was a quiet domestic session yesterday with only a 50 point range between 0.8880 and 0.8930.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was the center focus for global market participants on Wednesday as he testified before the House Financial Services Committee about the state of the U.S. economy and the Fed's monetary policy.

Seventy four teachers from the Central Falls High School in Rhode Island were fired on Wednesday as the school struggles with under-performance.

Seventy-four Rhode Island teachers have been fired from poor performing Central Falls High School in Rhode Island, as well as 19 staff members and the principal.

Every teacher and staff at the Central Falls High School in Rhode Island was fired in the midst of a federal effort to fix under-performing schools nationwide.

President Barack Obama launched a vigorous defense of his economic agenda on Wednesday, rejecting critics who say it amounts to socialism and insisting his policies would boost U.S. competitiveness.

Toyota Motor Corp chief Akio Toyoda stepped to center stage in a sprawling U.S. investigation of the Japanese automaker's safety crisis, apologizing to consumers and pledging reforms to skeptical lawmakers.

The FCC chairman is hoping to free up a section of the wireless spectrum in an effort to make room for wireless broadband Internet.

Sanjiv Ranjan Das, a professor at California's Santa Clara University, last fall attacked the problem of underwater mortgages often cited as an Achilles' heel to the U.S. housing market.

Senate negotiations toward a bipartisan agreement on financial regulatory reform moved forward on several fronts on Wednesday and hopes were high for a pact early next week.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday a weak job market and tame inflation warrant low interest rates for an extended period, dampening speculation a policy tightening might be nearing.