IBT Staff Reporter

The biggest oil companies in the world have calculated that few, if any, of today's drivers will see electric cars outnumber gasoline and diesel models in their lifetimes.

AOL Inc. posted a drop in fourth-quarter profit, but beat Wall Street forecasts as a rise in display advertising offset an ongoing decline at its Internet dial-up business.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.6 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.4 percent at 4:38 a.m. ET.

U.S. automaker Chrysler Group LLC swung to a full-year net income of $183 million on Wednesday, and made the bold prediction that profit would be eight times higher in 2012, on strong sales in its main U.S. market.

Greece's prime minister is seeking backing from the country's political leaders for more austerity measures, with the International Monetary Fund warning that long-term commitment to reforms is key to securing a new bailout.

European Union regulators have blocked the merger of exchange operators Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext to avoid giving them a stranglehold on the European futures market.

U.S. authorities are preparing to charge four former Credit Suisse Group AG employees with criminal and civil fraud related to write-downs on subprime mortgage derivatives at the height of the financial crisis, sources familiar with the matter said.

European Union antitrust regulators have blocked the merger of exchange operators Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext, making the sector's fourth failed tie-up attempt in a year.

Chinese government representatives directed a U.S. businessman to obtain valuable technology manufactured by chemical giant DuPont and U.S. authorities were seeking on Wednesday to keep him in jail ahead of his trial on charges relating to trade secret theft, prosecutors said in newly released court documents.

China began Wednesday streaming live video footage of its pandas around the world via webcam in an attempt to boost awareness of conservation efforts for its beloved but endangered animal ambassadors.

Sharp Corp forecast a record 290 billion yen ($3.8 billion) net loss for the year to March after posting surprise quarterly losses as a slump in TV sales forced it to halve output at a western Japan LCD plant.

Morgan Stanley is all set to trump Goldman Sachs in a deal to buy a brokerage seat in Indonesia from PT Tiga Pilar Sekuritas, sources said, as the race to tap the growing financial market in Southeast Asia's biggest economy intensifies.

Euro zone manufacturing activity declined for a sixth straight month in January as a slight upturn in Germany failed to offset a prolonged contraction in the bloc's smaller economies, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Debt-laden Greece and its international lenders must focus less on deficit reduction and more on reform because there are limits to what society can tolerate, a senior IMF official said on Wednesday.

Portugal seeks to sell 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in treasury bills on Wednesday, in a test of its ability to raise short-term funds after a recent surge in its long-term bond rates have raised fears it may be forced to follow Greece and seek a new bailout.

China-focused plantation operator Sino-Forest Corp said an independent committee had wound up its investigation into allegations the firm had exaggerated its assets, but had not been able to get to the bottom of all the issues raised.

Japan's Sharp Corp posted an 86 percent drop in nine-month operating profit on Wednesday and cut its full-year profit forecast to zero, struggling with intense competition in the TV business in a weak global economy.

China's factory sector expanded slightly in January, confounding expectations for a contraction and supporting hopes the world's second-biggest economy will avoid a hard landing, a government purchasing managers' index showed.

Stocks rose and the euro steadied on Wednesday as investors remained on guard ahead of the release of manufacturing surveys from the Europe's biggest economies after China's powerful factories showed a slight expansion.

Mayor Nobuto Hosaka had more than saving taxpayers' money on his mind when he recently invited bids from rivals of giant utility Tokyo Electric Power Co <9501.T> to supply power to his ward in Japan's capital.

U.S. investigating authorities have traced more than 90 percent of the customer money which disappeared from MF Global around the time of its bankruptcy, the New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the investigation.

Debt-laden and recession-hit Greece must accelerate structural reforms and slow down on deficit reduction, the head of the IMF's inspection team for Greece was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Asian stock markets struggled on Wednesday as weaker U.S. data damped down recent optimism that the world's largest economy may escape the gloom from the euro zone debt crisis, while Chinese manufacturing surveys failed to break the cautious mood.

Morgan Stanley is all set to trump Goldman Sachs in a deal to buy a brokerage seat in Indonesia from PT Tiga Pilar Sekuritas, five sources said, as the race to tap the growing financial market in Southeast Asia's biggest economy intensifies.

An ambitious private project to unlock wireless access across Mexico appears to be stuck in a stalemate with the developer and the government unable to agree on terms.

U.S. authorities are preparing to charge former Credit Suisse Group AG employees with criminal and civil fraud related to write-downs on subprime mortgage derivatives at the height of the financial crisis, sources familiar with the matter said.

U.S. authorities are preparing to charge former Credit Suisse Group AG employees with criminal and civil fraud related to write-downs on subprime mortgage derivatives at the height of the financial crisis, sources familiar with the matter said.

Financial industry observers are increasingly skeptical that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's planned proposal to require a uniform fiduciary standard for all financial advisers will become a reality this year, if ever.

Police seized a motorboat packed with more than a ton of marijuana north of Los Angeles and arrested three Mexican men, the latest seizure as traffickers try to beat tougher border security by taking to the waves, authorities said on Tuesday.