IBT Staff Reporter

Amazon.com Inc introduced its eagerly awaited tablet computer on Wednesday with a price tag that could make it the first strong competitor in a tablet market that has been dominated by Apple Inc's iPad.

Polls point to a minority government in Canada's economic powerhouse of Ontario after provincial elections next week, amid disillusionment with the ruling Liberals and disappointment with their main rivals.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did not comment on the U.S. economy or monetary policy in a speech about emerging markets on Wednesday.

Rumors have begun that Apple is going to stop producing the iPod soon, given that people have begun moving to the iPad and iPhone, although Apple has kept mum on the speculation.

The Florida legislature is planning to schedule the state's Republican presidential primary for Jan. 31, 2012, expressly violating party rules and further upsetting the 2012 election cycle.

Commodity-related stocks drove Wall Street lower on Wednesday as stiff declines in energy and metals prices underscored investor concerns about global economic weakness and Europe's raging debt crisis.

The heads of two of the world's most powerful private equity firms issued a dire report on the U.S. economy on Wednesday, signaling problems for political leaders and their own firms' ability to realize profit on their portfolios.

Public interest group Free Press filed a petition for review in the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston on Wednesday, challenging U.S. Internet rules set to go into effect November 20.

Change is coming to the U.S. municipal bond market, and issuers, bankers and others are worried that some of the moves could fundamentally alter the process for financing capital and operating needs.

Coffee drinkers may have Folgers to thank for their joyful days as women who drink two or more cups of coffee each day are less at risk of depression, according to a team of researchers at the Harvard Medical School.

The digital day laborers of Zynga's FarmVille may be getting more to do then tend their cyber-crops. Facebook users may be able to put up political signs and canvas their digital neighbors for real life political candidates, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Amazon rolled out its new line of Kindle tablets in New York Wednesday morning, adding the seven-inch $199 color Android Fire, the $99 keyboard-free 4GB Touch model and a $79 2GB non-touchscreen version to its ranks. Yet the Amazon product causing the most stir was not an e-reader or tablet, but Amazon Silk, the company's new mobile web platform powered by Amazon's incredibly extensive web services platform.

Commodity-related stocks drove Wall Street lower on Wednesday as stiff declines in energy and metals prices underscored investor concerns about global economic weakness and Europe's festering debt crisis.

Seventy-two people from 18 states, so far, are confirmed to have been infected with the deadly Listeria bacteria linked to Colorado-grown cantaloupes as of Monday. Here are nine more states that may be in danger of suffering listeria infections or possible deaths.

Reebok International Ltd has agreed to pay $25 million to settle charges that it made unsupported claims that its toning shoes provide extra muscle strength, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday.

UBS AG interim Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti appealed to staff in an internal memo to back efforts to make the bank less complex and risky, following a $2.3 billion loss from unauthorized trading.

Thomson Reuters Corp named Jim Smith to the position of chief operating officer, putting him into stronger contention as a possible successor to Chief Executive from Tom Glocer, who is under pressure to revamp the company's slow-growing Markets business.

Stocks were little changed on Wednesday after a three-day rally as investors waited to see if an audit of Greece's finances would lead to granting more aid to the country to avoid default.

Workers represented by the United Auto Workers union approved a four-year labor contract with General Motors Co on Wednesday, the first such deal for the top U.S. automaker since its 2009 bankruptcy.

Obama new deficit plans targets the travel industry with already soaring ticket prices.

U.S. businesses stepped up investment spending in August despite the upheaval caused by bitter political fighting in Washington, and some economists raised their forecast for economic growth for this quarter.

Stocks were little changed on Wednesday after a three-day rally as investors waited to see if an audit of Greece's finances would lead to granting more aid to the country to avoid default.

Rosh Hashana begins at sundown on Sept. 28, and, for many of the Jewish faith, it is a time of repentance and celebration.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty discussed the global economy with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the head of the Bank of Canada for 45 minutes on Tuesday but did not comment afterward.

The United Auto Workers union looks set to announce approval of its labor contract with General Motors Co on Wednesday as more than half the local bargaining units have voted in favor of the four-year deal.

Workers represented by the United Auto Workers union approved a four-year labor contract with General Motors Co on Wednesday, the first such deal for the top U.S. automaker since its 2009 bankruptcy.

U.S. companies will spend nearly $200 billion this year on targeted media such as direct mail, text messages or product placement in video games to concentrate on narrow, valuable groups of consumers, a new study shows.

Caution ahead of an audit of Greece's finances drove major world stock markets lower on Wednesday, while prices of commodities like oil and copper fell.

A deputy prime minister sought to empathize with Greeks facing an unpopular property tax passed by parliament as part of austerity measures, saying on Wednesday he personally did not have the cash to pay and would have to sell real estate.