IBT Staff Reporter

The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms declined 23 percent in August after rising for three straight months, with the government sector again leading the job cuts, a report showed on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 was set to rise about 1 percent at the open on Wednesday, as the previous day's comments from Federal Reserve officials heightened hopes of further monetary stimulus to boost the economy.

The outnumbering demand for HP’s TouchPad, after the company slashed its price to $100 seems to indicate a clear strategy to all the iPad foes to beat the undefeated tablet.

SEI Investments published a report saying fund managers and investors are relieved to see unmistakable signs of a recovery.

Telecommunications giant AT&T Inc, whose proposed buy of T-Mobile USA is under scrutiny by U.S. regulators, promised to bring 5,000 wireless call-center jobs back to the United States if the deal wins approval.

Joe Jonas has been experiencing a busy year. The middle Jonas brother has gone solo in a side project. With an album and tour coming up within a few weeks, it seems crazy to think that the 22 year-old also has a new film in the works. The star has two roles in the project--actor and producer. Joe Jonas is truly living the fast life.

Global Trust of Nigeria could be using Uganda as a testing ground for its Shariah Law-compliant products and services.

Stock index futures gained on Wednesday on comments from Federal Reserve officials that boosted hopes of more monetary stimulus and as investors awaited data for a better assessment on the economy, including the weak labor sector.

Land Rover will gauge consumer reaction to the DC100 as a way to decide the potential future direction of the iconic Defender.

The leader of the Liberals, a party reduced to also-ran status in the May federal election, on Tuesday rebuffed the idea of an alliance with their left-of-center rivals, even as a former party leader touted a merger as the only way the left would win back power.

Though Apple’s App Store has overtaken Android’s market in terms of the total number of apps, Android has defeated iOS by the number of free apps it offers.

Applications for U.S. home mortgages tumbled last week as demand for refinancing sagged for the second week in a row, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Twenty-five of the 100 highest paid U.S. CEOs earned more last year than their companies paid in federal income tax, a pay study said on Wednesday.

Russian bailiffs raided the Moscow offices of a trading unit of British oil company BP on Wednesday and company sources said most of the staff were told not to come to work.

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, boosted by gains in Europe, as investors awaited new data for a better assessment on the health of the economy, including the weak labor sector.

Applications for U.S. home mortgages tumbled last week as demand for refinancing sagged for the second week in a row, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Japan's Sony Corp, Toshiba Corp and Hitachi Ltd will merge their liquid-crystal display operations using $2.6 billion of government-backed funds to fend off growing competition from rivals in South Korea and Taiwan.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for equities on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.3-0.8 percent.

Finnish phone maker Nokia said a senior executive was leaving the company to work for a new venture investment fund which will help it develop new applications for its phones.

Japan's Sony Corp, Toshiba Corp and Hitachi Ltd will merge their liquid-crystal display operations using $2.6 billion of government-backed funds to fend off growing competition from rivals in South Korea and Taiwan.

Russian internet investment group Mail.ru raised its full-year revenue growth forecast to 50 percent from 40 percent on Wednesday after sales and profit rose at its social network, online gaming and e-mail activities in the first half.

Russian internet investment group Mail.ru raised its full-year revenue growth forecast to 50 percent from 40 percent on Wednesday after sales and profit rose at its social network, online gaming and e-mail activities in the first half.

Asia will add 1.66 million dollar-millionaires by 2015, taking the total number of wealthy to 2.82 million as the world's fastest-growing major economies of China and India continue to mint millionaires, a report from Julius Baer said on Wednesday.

Bailiffs raided BP's Moscow offices on Wednesday, a new humiliation for the British oil company a day after ExxonMobil signed an agreement that ended BP's hopes of developing Arctic offshore oil fields with Russia.

Sony Corp's new tablet computers, expected to be launched on Wednesday, face an uphill battle against dominant players Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics, with the gadget's expected pricing in particular raising red flags.

Spider-Man leaps from the top of a building and swings out toward you, cloak fluttering so close you can almost touch it -- at work, on a train, in a car, or wherever you are.

Small U.S. businesses in July moderated what had been a blistering pace of borrowing, held back by uncertainty over U.S. economic growth and the debt crisis.

Beyonce grabbed much of the limelight at the MTV Video Music Awards with her pregnany announcement and broke a Twitter record of 8,868 tweets per second when she showed her baby bump after her performance.

Sony's new tablet computers, expected to be launched Wednesday, face an uphill battle against dominant players Apple and Samsung Electronics, with the gadget's expected pricing in particular raising red flags.