UNITED STATES

Global regulators will give banks a grace period before forcing them to implement stricter capital rules, three people said on Wednesday, easing concerns that lenders might need to issue massive amounts of shares in the near future.

British technical plastic products supplier Carclo Plc (C1Y.L) said it would raise 3.7 million pounds ($6.01 million) from a placing of shares to accelerate projects in its technology business.

American Airlines said that it, private equity firm TPG and Oneworld alliance partners could increase their $1.1 billion investment offer to Japan Airlines (9205.T), depending on the struggling carrier's restructuring plan.

(Corrects figure for November housing starts to 574,000 units in paragraph 8)

Heavy metal's Big Four -- Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax -- will ride together in 2010. In Europe, at least.

European Union regulators accepted Microsoft Corp's pledge to give European consumers better access to rival Internet browsers in Windows, ending a long antitrust dispute with the U.S. software maker.

Churchill Downs Inc's recent cash and stock deal for online wagering site Youbet.com Inc has the company best known for the Kentucky Derby betting on a faster growth track.

A neo-noir romance and a sweeping historical look at a Sicilian village were among the foreign language films earning Golden Globe nominations on Tuesday, hoping to boost recognition in the United States.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen asked Russia on Wednesday to give the Western military alliance more help in Afghanistan but failed to get an immediate pledge of assistance from the Kremlin.

The Treasury is working on a number of fronts to use the government's $700 billion bailout fund to boost lending to small businesses, a senior Treasury official said on Wednesday, adding that tax incentives to boost hiring should be considered.

The U.S. government filed suit against Intel Corp on Wednesday, alleging that the chip giant illegally used its dominance of the market for a decade to stifle competition and strengthen its monopoly.

The U.S. government filed suit against Intel Corp on Wednesday, accusing the chip giant of illegally using its market dominance to stifle competition for a decade.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is likely to ignore pressure to adopt tougher emissions targets this week, preferring instead to let the United States craft a North American climate change policy.

The wife of Tiger Woods, Elin Nordegren, has already set appointments to meet with divorce attorneys next week according to reports from Radar online.

Essilor (ESSI.PA), the largest maker of corrective eye lenses, plans to buy U.S. group FGX International (FGXI.O) for about $465 million to expand in the growing market for non-prescription reading glasses.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) took a further step to build up its non-prescription consumer health business on Wednesday with a small deal giving it rights to an experimental cold sore treatment from privately owned NanoBio.

The U.S. government filed suit against Intel Corp on Wednesday, accusing the chip giant of illegally using its market dominance to stifle competition for a decade.

The wife of philanderer Tiger Woods, Elin Nordegren, is planning to divorce the professional golfer after it was revealed he had numerous affairs during their marriage, according to media reports.

British confectioner Cadbury said on Wednesday it had insured 500 million pounds ($813 million) of pension liabilities in a deal allowing it to keep control of the scheme's assets.

U.S. consumer prices rose in line with expectations in November on a surge in energy costs, but prices were flat, excluding food and energy, a government report showed on Wednesday.

Stocks should score a second straight year of gains in 2010 as an economic recovery brightens the profit outlook, extending the market's rebound from the depths of a punishing financial crisis, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.