IBT Staff Reporter

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for equities on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 rising 0.5 to 0.6 percent.

Greek conservative leader Antonis Samaras will send a letter of commitment to the terms of an EU/IMF bailout deal within the day, a party source said on Wednesday, with the country's bankruptcy rescue hanging in the balance.

Apple, which became the world's largest smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter, will see its iPhone market share slipping for a couple of quarters as the novelty of its latest 4S model runs out, research firm Gartner said on Wednesday.

The euro started firmer and stocks gained as investors focused on the growing flood of money from major central banks seen as supporting global economic growth and on hopes Greece will ultimately take the steps needed to secure its second bailout.

A Goldman Sachs technology analyst is under investigation by federal authorities for leaking inside information to hedge funds, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people close to the situation.

Proview Technology, the Chinese firm embroiled in a legal battle with Apple Inc over the iPad name, said on Wednesday that Chinese customs authorities had told it that any ban on the import or export of the popular tablet PCs would be difficult to impose due to the sheer size of the market.

The head of Airbus said he ordered an internal investigation into how the company allowed wing cracks to develop on its flagship A380 passenger jet, acting to draw a line under weeks of embarrassing publicity for the world's largest planemaker.

Markets rose on Wednesday as investors hoped Greece would deliver on a commitment to enact harsh reforms, while comments from China's central bank governor saying Beijing would continue to invest in euro zone government debt aided sentiment.

Euro zone finance ministers have dropped plans for a face-to-face meeting on Wednesday on Greece's new international bailout, saying party leaders in Athens failed to provide the required commitment to reform.

Entering the fifth year of recession, Greece is writing its name in the book of unwanted records for one of the deepest economic slumps of modern times.

'Linsanity' slammed into hockey-mad Canada with the force of a winter storm on Tuesday as Jeremy Lin, the National Basketball Association's (NBA) newest sensation, set hearts aflutter with a Valentine's Day visit to the league's most northern outpost.

In a bit of tragically good timing, Tuesday's Valentine's Day-themed episode of Glee will include a performance of Whitney Houston's signature hit I Will Always Love You, sung by McKinley High's own diva, Mercedes (Amber Riley).

Comedian Doug Stanhope makes no apologies for his uninhibited, controversial dark comedy, and with fans and friends like Ricky Gervais and Louis C.K., why should he?

The Mormon church apologized on Tuesday for the posthumous baptism by its members of the parents of famed Nazi hunter and Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal.

Brazil's Vale SA , the world's second-largest mining company, will likely report a 21 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit as the price of key metals fell and the company changed the way it charged for iron-ore, its main product.

Famed hedge fund manager John Paulson on Tuesday demanded that insurer The Hartford Financial Services Group break itself into two companies, escalating a confrontation with management that began with screams on a conference call last week.

Hedge fund managers bought shares of several of last year's hot IPOs in the fourth quarter, including upscale retailer Michael Kors and online networking site LinkedIn .

Apple Inc is in very active discussions at the board level about what to do with its steadily growing hoard of cash and securities, Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Tuesday, responding to calls for the world's most valuable electronics company to put its massive cash reserves to work.

Zynga Inc failed to boost the ranks of its online players compared to the earlier quarter, fanning worries that it will have to rely on new games and other ways to squeeze more revenue out of its users.

Berkshire Hathaway increased its exposure to media companies significantly in the fourth quarter, adding a new position in Liberty Media and substantially raising its stake in DirecTV, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Talks between Yahoo Inc and China's Alibaba over the U.S. Internet giant's Asian assets have hit an impasse, throwing their plans for a $17 billion tax-free asset swap into question, according to sources briefed on the situation.

Iranian engineers have succeeded in neutralizing and purging the computer virus known as Stuxnet from their country's nuclear machinery, European and U.S. officials and private experts have told Reuters.

Zynga Inc failed to boost the ranks of its online gamers in its first quarter as a public company, fanning worries that it will have to rely on new games and other ways to squeeze more revenue out of existing users.

Leading senators introduced a cybersecurity bill on Tuesday aimed at safeguarding the nation's water and power systems, which experts have warned often only have the most rudimentary protections against hackers.

Caesars Entertainment Corp stands to benefit from the rise of social media gaming, Chief Executive Gary Loveman said in a speech on Tuesday.

Websites of exchange operators Nasdaq and BATS have been attacked by hackers over the last 24 hours, causing ongoing disruptions for those trying to use the sites, spokespersons for the companies said on Tuesday.

Britain's top-notch credit rating may survive the threat of a downgrade because economists still believe in London's resolve to erase a huge budget deficit and the central bank's ability to print money.

Websites of exchange operators Nasdaq and BATS have been attacked by hackers over the last 24 hours, causing ongoing disruptions for those trying to use the sites, spokespersons for the companies said on Tuesday.

Greek conservative party leader Antonis Samaras has not yet signed a written commitment to the country's international lenders on implementing an austerity package, a source close to negotiations on securing a new EU/IMF bailout said on Tuesday.