IBT Staff Reporter

Chinese search engine Baidu Inc may face tighter regulations after facing a barrage of criticism from state media over its business practices at a time when it is cementing its dominance of the booming Internet market.

The Swiss National Bank stepped up its efforts to tame a runaway franc on Wednesday but stopped short of direct intervention, disappointing markets that had positioned for more radical measures and sending the currency sharply higher.

China pushed for greater international use of the yuan on Wednesday by promising to let foreign investors buy mainland shares and bonds, pushing up shares of brokerage stocks listed in Hong Kong.

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee has asked the firm's top management to seek measures including acquisitions to enhance its software prowess, local media reports said on Wednesday.

Spain and Italy, under the market microscope over debt servicing costs, welcomed Franco-German proposals for a more integrated euro zone Wednesday and said they hoped the plans would usher in regionwide bonds.

Stock futures pointed to a lower open for Wall Street Wednesday, with investors believing that Tuesday's meeting between French and German leaders failed to make significant progress on the euro zone sovereign debt crisis.

Spain and Italy, under the market microscope over debt servicing costs, welcomed Franco-German proposals for a more integrated euro zone on Wednesday and said they hoped the plans would usher in region-wide bonds.

Stock futures pointed to a lower open for Wall Street on Wednesday, with investors feeling that Tuesday's meeting between French and German leaders failed to make significant progress on the euro zone sovereign debt crisis.

Apple Inc plans to invest in a Sharp Corp factory to secure a supply of LCD screens for iPhones and iPads, sources said, triggering expectations Apple may step up orders to Japanese parts makers.

Danish brewer Carlsberg on Wednesday posted a drop in second-quarter profit and more than halved full-year growth prospects as drinkers in its key Russian market struggled to absorb higher beer prices.

The Swiss National Bank made fresh efforts on Wednesday to tame a runaway franc but again steered clear of direct intervention, disappointing markets that had positioned for more radical measures and sending the currency sharply higher.

World stocks and the euro slipped on Wednesday as investors grew concerned that French and German plans for closer fiscal integration may be insufficient to stop the regional debt crisis from spreading further.

Germany's opposition Social Democrats on Wednesday criticized the Franco-German summit for rejecting common euro zone bonds and for failing to offer an adequate solution to the debt crisis.

The Swiss National Bank said on Wednesday it would expand existing measures to counter the runaway Swiss franc by expanding bank sight deposits and that it would take further measures against the currency's strength if necessary.

Although Arsenal began their post-Fabregas era with a win, it was a far from convincing performance in the 1-0 win in the first leg of Champions League qualifying tie.

Switzerland's government will unveil a 1.5 billion Swiss franc ($1.9 billion) package to help the country deal with the strong currency when it meets later on Wednesday, a Swiss newspaper reported.

Bank of America Corp may settle a state and federal probe of foreclosure practices in a deal that lets New York proceed with an inquiry into securitizations, Bloomberg reported citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The apparent suicide of a husband on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" again showed the dark side of reality TV and the stress that unrelenting media coverage can place on people, experts said on Tuesday.

Opposing lawyers disputed the meaning of a medical report that said "rape" caused injuries sustained by the woman who has accused former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault.

India's leading anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare fasted in Tihar jail on Wednesday after refusing a police release order, a stand-off that has sparked nationwide demonstrations and widespread derision at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government.

After losing out in the titanic $4.5 billion bid for Nortel Networks against Apple and the gang of five, Google has resurged with its latest acquisition of Motorola. The search giant lost out in obtaining 6,000 patents from the Nortel deal, but the $12.5 billion Motorola purchase will make up for the loss with over 17,000 patents packaged in the deal.

Verizon Communications is sending its 45,000 striking workers notice that their health insurance benefits will expire at the end of the month if they don't get back to work.

Verizon Communications is sending its 45,000 striking workers notice that their health insurance benefits will expire at the end of the month if they are not back at work.

Recent discoveries have found that cancer is even more devious than previously assumed.

Chinese online video company Tudou Holdings Ltd priced shares in its initial public offering within the expected range on Tuesday, even though investor sentiment toward U.S.-listed Chinese stocks and a market rout had suggested it would be difficult.

Scientists in Singapore are designing "suicide bomber" bacteria that kill a harmful microbe called pseudomonas aeruginosa. Those bacteria, which commonly infect hospital patients with compromised immune systems, target tissue and can cause fatal infections.

He made his name on the quirky fast food documentary Super Size Me, and recently peered inside the wacky world of product placement in movies.

France and Germany unveiled far-reaching plans on Tuesday for closer euro zone integration and said joint euro bonds may be a longer-term option, leaving the currency area vulnerable to more attacks from traders.

A big business group on Tuesday urged lawmakers on a deficit-cutting panel to revamp the U.S. tax code and health and retirement programs as they go about their task of finding $1.2 trillion in savings.