IBT Staff Reporter

E*Trade Financial Corp's chief financial officer said on Wednesday that the deteriorating economic environment spurred by Europe's debt crisis was a key reason behind the No. 3 online brokerage's decision not to put itself up for sale after its recent strategic review.

Clearwire is expected to reach a funding deal with Sprint Nextel at the end of the year, and may even reach an agreement to prevent Clearwire from missing its $237 million debt payment due Thursday, sources close to the matter told Reuters.

Stocks rose 3 percent on Wednesday as major central banks jointly added liquidity to the world's financial system, easing worries about a global downturn.

In its first three months in operation, the U.S. consumer financial watchdog received more than 5,000 complaints from credit card customers, led by billing disputes and interest rate problems.

The world's major central banks acted jointly on Wednesday to provide cheaper dollar funding to European banks facing a credit crunch as the euro zone's debt crisis drove EU ministers to urge more IMF help to avert financial disaster.

The Canadian economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter, recovering more solidly than expected from a 0.5 percent contraction in the second quarter that was linked to the impact of Japan's earthquake and tsunami.

Three hackers say they have exploited a vulnerability in Research In Motion's PlayBook tablet to gain root access to the device, a claim that could damage the BlackBerry maker's hard-won reputation for security.

The Bank of Canada will not raise interest rates again until the fourth quarter of next year as Europe's worsening debt crisis dims the outlook for the global economy, according to a Reuters survey.

A Canadian native group is suing Royal Dutch Shell Plc for what it said was a failure by the oil major to live up to environmental funding agreements tied to Shell's massive northern Alberta oil sands developments.

Central bank action on Wednesday to ease severe funding strains for the world's private sector banks may help cushion a brewing global credit crunch but it only buys some wiggle room for governments trying to resolve the euro debt crisis and keep banks lending.

Samsung Electronics Co is set to resume selling its Galaxy tablet computer in Australia as early as Friday, after the South Korean technology firm won a rare legal victory in a long-running global patent war with Apple Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein may be asked to testify in a market regulator's insider-trading case against a former director of the Wall Street bank, a judge ruled.

When bloggers posted what they said was a tape of the governor of this industrial region telling local employers to organize compulsory voting for Vladimir Putin's ruling party, it caused a stir across Russia.

Stocks rose 3 percent on Wednesday as major central banks jointly added liquidity to the world's financial system, easing worries about a global downturn.

Tom Hanks' Playtone and Universal Pictures have optioned the rights to Erik Larson's best-seller In the Garden of Beasts, TheWrap has confirmed.

The investor group Melrose 2 is suing Paramount Pictures, claiming it put up $375 million to finance the Transformers movies and other projects, but hasn't received any of the profits.

This is not a story about ratings. This is a story about shows that have overstayed their welcome.

With the fast-selling e-publication of his memoir-cum-business-strategy guide, Mark Cuban made another notch in his media-pioneer belt.

Student filmmakers hoping to graduate into the movie industry have a new opportunity, courtesy of online distribution platform SeeFlik.

He may not be a household name, yet, but actor Michael Fassbender is fast becoming one of the hottest young names in the film business.

Steven Soderbergh has signed on to direct a new thriller, The Bitter Pill, TheWrap has confirmed.

British digital sports rights media firm Perform expects to be able to increase its advertising rates around video by employing more scientific data, such as that provided by Facebook, to target marketing at viewers.

Prepare to see plenty of Ricky Gervais on your television in the early part of next year.

NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams was totally on fire Tuesday night. Sort of.

Untouchable, a comedy about a rich quadriplegic and his black caretaker, has become a certified box office phenomenon in France.

Police in riot gear and biohazard suits removed anti-Wall Street activists from an encampment outside the Los Angeles City Hall on Wednesday, arresting an estimated 200 people.

Samsung Electronics Co is set to resume selling its Galaxy tablet computer in Australia as early as Friday, after the South Korean technology firm won a rare legal victory in a long-running global patent war with Apple Inc.

Dallas-based AT&T has agreed to provide broader-reaching Internet services in China, and the two companies are looking into providing services such as telepresence, managed hosting, cloud-based services, network integration services and enterprise mobility solutions.

Companies created the most jobs in nearly a year in November, adding to cautious optimism that the country's battered labor market is working its way toward healing.