IBT Staff Reporter

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.2 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures also up 0.2 percent at 5 a.m. E.D.T. (0900 GMT)

Japan's scandal-hit Olympus Corp on Wednesday unveiled three new medical products it hopes will help it out of the crisis left by a huge accounting fraud which erupted last year, threatening to destroy the 92-year-old firm.

When Chinese car maker Geely bought Volvo 18 months ago, some predicted a government which has made it a priority to buy or build high-end international brands would roll out the red carpet for the country's first fully-owned premier marquee.

Italian group Generali , Europe's No.3 insurer, said on Wednesday it was targeting a mid-term operating profit of more than 5 billion euros ($6.6 billion), compared with the 3.9 billion it made in 2011.

Emirates Aluminium , a joint venture between Abu Dhabi's Mubadala and Dubai Aluminium , is looking to double its exports to the United States by the end of 2012 as demand from the automotive industry rises, it said on Wednesday.

A counteroffensive of sorts may be underway this year in what has seemed like a one-sided global currency war as developing economies slow, western money-printing pauses and the heat comes out of pumped-up emerging market currencies.

Angry Birds maker Rovio is teaming up with a major U.S. retail chain to sell its merchandise, and plans to open themed activity parks in Britain, as it continues to expand beyond mobile games to establish a Disney-style brand, it said on Tuesday.

U.S. bank JPMorgan has agreed to buy a 19.9 percent stake in Chinese trust company Bridge Trust Co, according to media reports.

Angry Birds maker Rovio is teaming up with a major U.S. retail chain to sell its merchandise, and plans to open themed activity parks in Britain, as it continues to expand beyond mobile games to establish a Disney-style brand, it said on Tuesday.

The private equity group co-founded by Irish rock star Bono has approached investors seeking $1 billion for its second fund, buoyed by its success with investments in Facebook Inc and Yelp Inc, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Oracle Corp beat Wall Street's earnings estimates as new software sales came in at the high end of the company's forecast, offsetting a sharp drop in hardware revenue.

The Internal Revenue Service is staffing up with high-powered talent to crack down on companies shifting profits from country to country to lower their tax bills, a strategy the agency has targeted before with only limited success.

Oracle Corp beat Wall Street's earnings estimates as new software sales came in at the high end of the company's forecast, offsetting a sharp drop in hardware revenue.

The United States on Tuesday dealt a blow to U.S. manufacturers of solar panels and boosted shares in their Chinese rivals when it imposed preliminary punitive duties of less than 5 percent on imports from China.

Handset maker HTC Corp's Beats Electronics is close to buying the digital music subscription service MOG for an undisclosed sum, according to a person close to the talks.

Technology giant Oracle Corp said quarterly sales of new software rose 7 percent from a year earlier to $2.4 billion, at the high end of its own forecast.

Technology giant Oracle Corp said quarterly sales of new software rose 7 percent from a year earlier to $2.4 billion, at the high end of its own forecast.

A warning about China's growth sparked selling in energy and industrial shares on Tuesday, but the broad market's losses were contained, a sign of resilience for U.S. stocks.

Apple Inc's new iPad reached temperatures of 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 Celsius) after 45 minutes of running an intense action game, or up to 13 degrees F (8 degree C) hotter than the previous iPad under similar conditions, according to a test run by influential reviewer Consumer Reports.

A federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit seeking to hold JPMorgan Chase & Co responsible for services allegedly provided by the former Washington Mutual Inc to advance a Ponzi scheme at Caribbean-based Millennium Bank.

The United States on Tuesday dealt a blow to U.S. manufacturers of solar panels and boosted shares in their Chinese rivals when it imposed preliminary punitive duties of less than 5 percent on imports from China.

Dan Magder recently gave up a top job with private equity firm Lone Star Funds to strike out on his own and become a landlord.

Greece has received the first 7.5 billion euros ($ 9.9 billion) of aid from its new EU/IMF bailout, with the bulk of the payment going to repay bonds held by the euro zone's central banks, government officials said on Tuesday.

An influential consumer watchdog is investigating online reports that Apple Inc's new iPad throws off an unusually large amount of heat and will publish its findings later on Tuesday.

Aereo Inc, an online television service backed by billionaire Barry Diller, filed a second countersuit against major broadcasters that want to stop it from retransmitting their programming.

Before his death, Apple Inc's Steve Jobs famously promised to go thermonuclear against smartphones running Google's Android software, saying they use technology ripped off from the iPhone.

Stocks retreated from a near 4-year high on Tuesday on signs that indicated China's economy may be slowing.

Permits for homebuilding neared a 3.5-year high in February, suggesting a budding recovery in the housing market was still on track even though groundbreaking activity slipped.

An influential U.S. consumer watchdog is investigating online reports that Apple Inc's new iPad throws off an unusually large amount of heat and will publish its findings later on Tuesday.