IBT Staff Reporter

Asian smartphone makers have a chance to exploit a rare letdown from pacesetter Apple Inc. after the new iPhone 4S failed to wow fans and investors, leaving Android rivals better placed to grab market share.

Japan's second-largest mobile carrier KDDI will sell Apple's new iPhone, the California-based company said, ending rival operator Softbank's highly profitable reign as the sole provider in Japan.

Europe is likely already in a mild recession, and the United States could very well join it, but the global economic turmoil is unlikely to reach the depths of the 2008 downturn, Morgan Stanley's Stephen Roach said on Tuesday.

United States prosecutors said on Tuesday they had won three major cases against American clients of questionable tax shelters including ones used by a Dallas billionaire and Wells Fargo Co. and others designed by Citibank and accounting firm KPMG LLP.

Shares of Apple's suppliers declined on Wednesday, after the company failed to wow fans and investors with its newest iPhone, while rivals HTC and Samsung Electronics rose on expectations they would be better placed to grab market share.

Asian stocks rebounded from steep losses over the past several sessions on Wednesday, after tentative signs that European leaders are stepping up their efforts to stop the region's sovereign debt woes from sparking a full-blown banking crisis.

Chipmaker Intel Corp has agreed to acquire mobile navigation software maker Telmap, the chief executive of the Israel-based company said on Sunday.

Asian stocks trimmed earlier gains Wednesday as investors remained skeptical about whether European leaders are going far enough their efforts to stop the region's sovereign debt woes from sparking a full-blown banking crisis.

Bank of New York Mellon was sued on Tuesday by New York federal and state prosecutors who accused the bank of cheating clients in foreign exchange transactions.

Controversial new drama The Playboy Club was axed on Tuesday by NBC after just three episodes, making it the first victim of the new fall TV season.

Apple Inc's newest iPhone left Wall Street and fans wishing for more than a souped-up version of last year's device, at a time when rival smartphone makers are nipping at its heels.

Twelve months after falling agonizingly short of claiming a first PGA Tour victory in his rookie season, Alex Prugh is back at the same venue with lofty hopes for this week's Frys.com Open.

The Tiger Woods factor has overshadowed the build-up to this week's Frys.com Open at CordeValle Golf Club where the former world number one will make his first PGA Tour appearance in almost two months.

A tearful and overwhelmed Amanda Knox returned home to Seattle on Tuesday, a day after an Italian appeals court cleared her of murder, and said she just wanted to spend time with her family.

The first two weeks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) season will be canceled if the lockout is not resolved by October 10, league commissioner David Stern said Tuesday.

Count Joel and Ethan Coen among the big-screen talents who are dipping their toes into the television waters.

Michael Jackson's doctor had packages of the powerful anesthetic propofol sent to his girlfriend's home while he was caring for the singer in the spring of 2009, a Los Angeles court heard on Tuesday.

American astronomer Adam Riess initially thought his Nobel-prize winning discovery that the expansion of the universe is speeding up was a mistake.

The astounding discovery that the expansion of the universe is speeding up won the Nobel physics prize on Tuesday for three astronomers whose observations of exploding stars transformed our view of the world, and of how it may end.

Greece will default on its debts, Ireland could too and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be forced out as Europe's financial crisis plays out, author Michael Lewis predicted on Tuesday.

Sprint Nextel confirmed that it will sell the next version of Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone, ending months of speculation about whether it would become the third U.S. operator to sell the popular device.

Here's how the Apple Inc iPhone 4S stacks up to rival devices from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, HTC Corp and Motorola Mobility.

The launch of Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone 4S showed just how much fans miss the showmanship of Steve Jobs. But it also gave observers a hint as to how new helmsman Tim Cook might prefer to do things.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie dashed hopes on Tuesday that he might make a late leap into the 2012 Republican presidential race in a move that sets up a battle between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry.

Former pizza executive Herman Cain is now tied with Mitt Romney for the lead in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, while former front-runner Rick Perry has taken a steep fall, according to a CBS News poll released on Tuesday.

Shazam, a mobile app that helps users identify music, has removed limits on the numbers of songs one can tag in its free version for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

A selection of Marilyn Monroe's costumes from films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Bus Stop are going up for sale in December, following sales of $22.8 million from an auction held earlier this year in Beverly Hills.

It's not surprising, perhaps, that a game based on a sewer-dwelling alligator named Swampy ranks as the top paid app for iPhones and iPads. What's surprising is that the game is a product of Walt Disney Co.

Film, TV and commercial production work shot up 15.4 percent in the third quarter, according to a regular survey conducted by non-profit group FilmL.A.