IBT Staff Reporter

Britain's economy is likely to get steadily weaker through the rest of this year, and the Bank of England's future decisions on asset purchases will be largely driven by overseas developments, BoE chief economist Spencer Dale told Reuters.

PepsiCo Inc reported slightly better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday and affirmed its full-year target, helped by international growth and the acquisition of a Russian beverage company.

Hong Kong's PCCW Ltd <0008.HK> got the green light from shareholders on Wednesday for its plan to spin off and list its multi-billion dollar telecoms unit, paving the way for owner Richard Li to create the media empire he has long yearned for.

The euro zone economy risks a protracted period of weakness while inflation is not a worry, European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny said, expecting price pressures in the bloc to fall below the ECB's target level next year.

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, putting the benchmark S&P 500 on track for its sixth day of gains in the past seven, as Slovakia moved to reach a deal on expanding the euro zone rescue fund.

Dexia Crediop, the Italian public financing arm of bailed-out Franco-Belgian bank Dexia , will soon be put up for sale, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Sony Corp will recall 1.6 million of its Bravia brand LCD televisions worldwide after several incidents of TV sets emitting smoke or parts melting due to faulty components, a company official said on Wednesday.

Millions of BlackBerry users around the world were left without text communication services for a third day on Wednesday as Research in Motion struggled to fix what it said was a switching failure in its private network.

Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker has proposed 10 steps for solving the Eurozone crisis including automatic sanctions for fiscally irresponsible governments, greater authority for the Commission and a dividend for taxpayers who rescue banks.

Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker has proposed ten steps for solving the euro zone crisis including automatic sanctions for fiscally irresponsible governments, greater authority for the Commission and a dividend for taxpayers who rescue banks.

A Russian court is expected to throw out a $2.8 billion lawsuit against two BP executives on the board of the British major's Russian joint venture, TNK-BP , a lawyer for BP said on Wednesday.

Samsung Electronics Co said on Wednesday it will soon release upgraded versions of three Galaxy smartphones in Europe to get around temporary sales bans on earlier versions of products that violated an Apple patent.

Britain's economy is likely to get steadily weaker through the rest of this year, and the Bank of England's future decisions on asset purchases will be largely driven by overseas developments, BoE chief economist Spencer Dale told Reuters.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.26 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.14 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.22 percent at 0740 GMT.

World stocks slipped below an earlier three-week high on Wednesday while top-rated government bonds rose as a weak start to the U.S. earnings season and Slovakia's rejection of a plan to expand the euro zone rescue fund kept investors nervous.

Infosys Ltd , India's No.2 software services exporter, reported a 9.7-percent rise in quarterly profit and cut its full-year revenue outlook by less-than-expected, cheering investors who shrugged off its warning about global economic uncertainty.

An Australian court will hand down its judgment on Thursday on Apple's request to ban the sale of Samsung Electronic's latest tablet computer in Australia.

A rebound in Chinese shares helped lift most Asian stocks into positive territory on Wednesday, but gains were limited by concerns that the threat posed to the global economic outlook by Europe's debt crisis is weighing on corporate earnings.

An Australian court will hand down its judgment on Thursday on Apple's request to ban the sale of Samsung Electronic's latest tablet computer in Australia.

Self-proclaimed Seattle superhero Phoenix Jones, a vigilante crime fighter, is due in court on Thursday to face charges that he assaulted a group of people with pepper spray outside a nightclub.

In his latest campaign video, Texas Governor Rick Perry takes direct aim at Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney over healthcare.

Rick Perry hopes to end a string of poor performances and campaign rival Mitt Romney looks to consolidate his newly regained front-runner status at a U.S. presidential debate for Republicans on Tuesday.

Republican presidential contenders meet on Tuesday for the seventh debate in their race for the nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012.

Republican front-runner Mitt Romney largely ignored his presidential rivals at a debate on Tuesday, casting himself as the candidate most suited to rescue the economy and lead the party back to the White House.

Even as Wall Street is being occupied and corporations are reviled, there is a revolution quietly raging across the country that empowers corporations to be a strong force for good. This week, California joined that revolution when Governor Jerry Brown created two new classes of corporations for businesses that seek to pursue both profit and purpose: Benefit Corporations and Flexible Purpose Corporations.

The good times are back.Buoyed by a record upfront on Madison Avenue in the spring, as well as a flurry of hit new comedies in the fall, network entertainment presidents expressed a consensus of optimism as they met for a Hollywood Radio TV Society lunchtime panel in Beverly Hills.

Michael Fassbender is returning to work with his now-frequent director, Steve McQueen, for 12 Years a Slave, TheWrap has confirmed.

Let's be clear: we're not suggesting you watch ABC's Last Man Standing, Tim Allen's return to television, because we think it's good.

Joseph Son, the actor who played Dr. Evil's knuckle-cracking sidekick Random Task in the 1997 comedy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, is suspected of killing his cellmate at Wasco State Prison in California, prison officials announced Tuesday.