IBT Staff Reporter

South Korea's LG Electronics reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday, with its mobile phone division sinking deeper into the red, dashing hopes of a recovery in its struggling smartphone business.

Asian shares declined on Wednesday ahead of a key meeting of European policymakers later in the session, with concerns heightening that the outcome to contain Europe's sovereign debt crisis could fall short of expectations.

SAP, the world's biggest maker of business software, said on Wednesday it would consider buying back shares after reporting a 23 percent jump in third-quarter operating profit and sticking to its 2011 outlook.

Japanese media interest has been muted, regulators are mostly mum and many politicians seem unaware that anything is amiss.

Prospects for a comprehensive deal to resolve the euro zone debt crisis at a summit on Wednesday look dim, with deep disagreement remaining on critical aspects of the potential agreement, including how to give the region's bailout fund greater firepower.

Turkey clung to hopes on Wednesday of finding survivors under rubble three days after a powerful earthquake killed at least 459 people, and the government finally requested foreign help to shelter thousands of homeless families.

Brazil on Tuesday rejected the idea of buying European bonds to help ease the euro zone's debt crisis, casting doubt on a plan for major emerging market economies to offer fresh funds for the continent's rescue.

NATO is to formally decide on Wednesday whether to end its mission over Libya now that Muammar Gaddafi is dead and buried and the country's new leaders have declared the nation liberated.

Research in Motion said the software upgrade for its PlayBook tablet has been delayed to February next year.

German Chancellor Angel Merkel looks set to win a parliamentary vote on Wednesday on boosting the firepower of the euro zone rescue fund with a large majority, bolstering her negotiating strength ahead of a crunch EU summit.

Nomura Holdings , Japan's largest investment bank, is planning major cost cuts that will like have the biggest impact on its loss-making European operations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Yemen's government signed a cease-fire with a dissident general Tuesday to try to end weeks of worsening bloodshed but sporadic explosions and gunfire were still heard in the north of the capital.

Nomura Holdings <8604.T>, Japan's largest investment bank, is planning major cost cuts that will like have the biggest impact on its loss-making European operations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Private sector wage deals rose 2.6 percent in the three months to September, lagging well behind the inflation rate of 5.2 percent, while the pay of most public sector workers remained frozen.

Tunisia's moderate Islamist party on Tuesday claimed a thumping victory in the country's first election, sending a message to the region that once-banned Islamists are challenging for power after the Arab Spring.

Amazon.com Inc shocked investors with a far weaker-than-expected outlook for the crucial holiday season quarter as it spent heavily on its new Kindle Fire tablet computer.

Medtronic Inc has asked software security experts to investigate the safety of its insulin pumps, as a new claim surfaced that at least one of its devices could be hacked to dose diabetes patients with potentially lethal amounts of insulin.

If nothing else, with Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay may have succeeded in making the least conceptually developed concept album of all time.

Community star Ken Jeong, who also played Mr. Chow in the Hangover movies, is starring in and producing The Chung Factor for Lionsgate, TheWrap has learned.

Despite its troubles, the adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower book series is still standing -- on the small screen, at least.

Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director and former head of McKinsey & Co, will surrender to the FBI on Wednesday to face criminal insider trading-related charges, a person familiar with the investigation said.

Who says a lack of hard work doesn't pay off?

Actress Lindsay Lohan's father Michael Lohan was jailed in Florida on Tuesday on a domestic battery charge after his girlfriend accused him of threatening to throw her off a balcony, police said.

ArcelorMittal has pulled out of its joint $5 billion bid with Peabody Energy for Australia's Macarthur Coal , days after the target's top shareholder accepted the offer and left the steelmaker with a higher-than-expected cost.

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi missed his chance to bring democracy to his country and described his death as a message to dictators around the world.

CBS has ordered full seasons of its new dramas Person of Interest and Unforgettable, the network announced Tuesday.

After a month of declines following its stellar season premiere performance, Two and a Half Men may have found its ratings bottom -- and it's quite high. The show had a slight increase Monday night and helped make CBS the highest-rated network for the evening, according to preliminary numbers.

Prisoners set fire to a jail in Turkey's earthquake-hit city of Van on Tuesday and gunshots were heard as inmates fought their guards following a big aftershock.

Boxer Chuck Wepner inspired Sylvester Stallone's Rocky films -- and the fact that he never got a cut of the billion-dollar franchise inspired him to sue.