IBT Staff Reporter

Stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday in what looks to be another low-volume session, with investors waiting for the start of 2012 before betting on risky assets.

Crude prices broke a six-day rally on Wednesday after Iran's threat to stop the flow of oil from the Gulf was written off as no more than rhetoric, while a strong short-term Italian debt sale eased stress in European markets.

Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext have extended the deadline for completion of their planned merger to March 31 next year as they seek to convince European regulators to back the $9 billion deal.

Stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday in what looks to be another low-volume session, with investors waiting for the start of 2012 before betting on risky assets.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones futures and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.04 to 0.2 percent at 0901 GMT.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, a $30 billion Chinese telecoms gear maker, has initiated a system this year to allow top executives to take turns acting as chief executive, its founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said in a year-end message.

On Friday, I published an analysis article criticizing Ron Paul's suggestion that the Civil War could have been avoided through compensated emancipation. Readers made a number of points in response.

The 153 members of the World Trade Organization agree on two things: We're in a hole. And we must keep digging.

Hackers who have shut down websites by overwhelming them with Web traffic could use the same approach to shut down the computers that control train switching systems, a security expert said at a hacking conference in Berlin.

Flaws in a widely used wireless technology could allow hackers to gain remote control of phones and instruct them to send text messages or make calls, according to an expert on mobile phone security.

Iran's threat to stop the flow of oil from the Gulf supported crude prices on Wednesday and put world shares on the back foot, while looming Italian debt auctions hampered the euro.

China's economy has surfed for years on a crest of hefty capital inflows, but the tide that brought gains in money supply is turning as global growth slows.

The New York Times Co said it will sell 16 regional newspapers spread across the U.S. Southeast and California to Halifax Media Holdings for $143 million in cash as it looks to cut costs and focus on its most important papers and their websites.

Asian shares fell on Wednesday in low volume with many market players away for year-end holidays, while oil held on to the previous day's gains on concerns about possible supply disruptions after Iran threatened to stop the flow of oil from the Gulf.

Two Eastman Kodak directors resigned from the board last week, the struggling photography company said in a filing with regulators on Tuesday.

The Carlyle Group has started fundraising for a new global financial services buyout fund that is seeking to top its previous $1.1 billion fund, which is now almost fully invested, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The Carlyle Group has started fundraising for a new global financial services buyout fund that is seeking to top its previous $1.1 billion fund, which is now almost fully invested, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission won a delay in its securities fraud lawsuit against Citigroup Inc, as the regulator tries to appeal a judge's decision to reject its $285 million settlement with the bank.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission won a delay in its securities fraud lawsuit against Citigroup Inc, as the regulator tries to appeal a judge's decision to reject its $285 million settlement with the bank.

The trustee liquidating MF Global's brokerage does not have a conflict of interest stemming from prior work done for one of MF Global's key lenders, a bankruptcy judge said on Tuesday.

Hackers affiliated with the Anonymous group said they are getting ready to publish emails stolen from private intelligence analysis firm Strategic Forecasting Inc, whose clients include the U.S. military, Wall Street banks and other corporations.

Sears Holdings Corp will close as many as 120 of its Kmart and Sears discount and department stores after its holiday sales slumped, sending its shares sliding more than 27 percent to their lowest level in three years.

Hackers affiliated with the Anonymous group said they are getting ready to publish emails stolen from private intelligence analysis firm Strategic Forecasting Inc, whose clients include the U.S. military, Wall Street banks and other corporations.

The Los Angeles Lakers continued their stumbling start to a new era with a 100-91 road loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday as the visitors matched their poorest opening to a campaign for nine years.

A ballot initiative requiring Los Angeles porn actors to wear condoms has qualified for the June election, organizers said on Tuesday.

Welcome back to Hobbiton.

A federal judge has approved American International Group Inc's $450 million settlement with rival insurers to end litigation accusing AIG of underreporting premiums on workers' compensation policies.

A federal judge has approved American International Group Inc's $450 million settlement with rival insurers to end litigation accusing AIG of underreporting premiums on workers' compensation policies.

The New York Times Co said it will sell 16 regional newspapers spread across the U.S. Southeast and California to Halifax Media Holdings for $143 million in cash as it looks to cut costs and focus on its most important papers and their websites.