IBT Staff Reporter

Johnny Depp's 14-year romance with French actress and singer Vanessa Paradis has hit the rocks, People magazine claimed on Wednesday, and the couple are living largely separate lives.

Zynga Inc said it bought four small mobile game companies for an undisclosed sum as the top maker of Facebook games seeks to expand its lineup on smartphones and tablets.

The Obama administration on Wednesday rejected the Keystone crude oil pipeline project, a decision welcomed by environmental groups but blasted by the domestic energy industry.

China is greatly concerned and strongly opposed to the United States' listing of Taobao, the country's largest consumer e-commerce website, as a notorious market for piracy, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

Europe needs to cough up a lot more than $200 billion to the International Monetary Fund before calling on others to boost the international lender's funding capacity to deal with the fallout from the European debt crisis, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday.

As Wall Street banks sharply cut costs, many of the industry's star bankers and traders are leaving their shrinking pay packages and firms behind.

Stocks gained on Wednesday as the International Monetary Fund sought to help countries hit by the European debt crisis, while Goldman Sachs' healthy earnings gave the financial sector another boost.

McDonald's Corp is poised to report robust December sales from U.S. restaurants open at least 13 months, according to a survey of U.S. franchisees.

Last week's fatal Italian cruise accident could wipe out a good chunk of Carnival Corp & Plc's 2012 profits, and the cruise operator could risk more long-term damage without a stronger public response to the crisis, Wall Street analysts and public relations experts said.

Britain urged European Union competition officials on Wednesday to reject political interference and vested interests when ruling on plans to create the world's biggest exchange operator.

While millions of college grads look forlornly into the worst U.S. job market in decades, Emily Woner pretty much guaranteed herself one of America's best-paid post-graduate jobs before she ever set foot on campus.

Italy and Britain called on the European Union on Wednesday to promote steps to boost economic growth and not focus solely on austerity to bring down the debt levels that have thrown the single currency into crisis.

Seven people were charged with a scheme to reap nearly $62 million in illegal profits on trades on Dell Inc shares, the latest salvo in a sweeping probe of suspicious trading at hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley removed General Motors Co as its top pick of U.S. auto stocks on Wednesday, expressing doubts the No. 1 U.S. automaker had the political will to overhaul its European operations.

The United States is becoming less economically competitive versus other nations, with political gridlock and a weak primary education system seen as the main drag, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Almost all U.S. metropolitan areas will see job growth in 2012, but for many areas it will still take years for employment to return to pre-recession levels, according to a report released on Wednesday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

A robust holiday shopping season could lead to strong earnings for EBay, the online auction giant.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan on Wednesday said about one million borrowers are expected to benefit from principal reductions on their mortgages as part of a wide-ranging settlement with banks over dubious foreclosure practices.

The Nasdaq advanced more than 1 percent while the Dow and S&P 500 added to gains on Wednesday as optimism about potential help from the International Monetary Fund for Europe.

Authorities arrested four people and will announce charges against several more on Wednesday as part of the government's sweeping probe into insider trading at hedge funds, an FBI spokesman said.

U.S. factory output in December grew at the fastest pace in a year and homebuilder sentiment improved this month, further evidence the economy entered the new year on firmer footing.

The English page of Wikipedia, the world's free online encyclopedia, was dark on Wednesday except for a paragraph urging users to protest legislation designed to stop copyright piracy, but that Wikipedia says could fatally damage the free and open Internet.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday on optimism the International Monetary Fund wants to raise more money to help combat Europe's debt crisis and after Goldman Sachs' earnings beat estimates.

Industrial output rose in December as manufacturing rebounded at its strongest pace in a year, countering a weather-related decline in utilities, Federal Reserve data showed on Wednesday.

Gillette and Braun hope a new gadget will win over a group that is not their typical customer base -- guys who sport facial hair.

Swiss police said on Wednesday they had arrested two men suspected of throwing red paint and scrawling SMASH WEF in black graffiti on the walls of the Swiss National Bank.

Goldman Sachs Group reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit of $978 million, or $1.84 per share, compared with a gain of $2.2 billion one year earlier. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.24 a share.

Cellphone makers are set to struggle with slow sales growth this year as a weaker global economy discourages consumers from replacing older handsets.

Producer prices fell in December as companies paid less for gasoline and vegetables, although higher prices for light motor trucks pushed a measure of underlying inflation higher.