IBT Staff Reporter

Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered reported a record-beating 17 percent rise in first-half profits on Wednesday as a booming Hong Kong market and increased restraint on costs outweighed a slump in India.

Asian stocks fell more than 2 percent and gold sat near a record above $1,660 an ounce on Wednesday, with fears increasing that Washington's efforts to cut spending will slow growth at a time when global factory output is already stagnating.

A NASA satellite caught a stunning video of an enormous plasma twister rising from the sun's surface on July 12.

China is considering a proposal to create a ministerial-level body to manage its state-owned banks and non-bank financial enterprises, two sources with knowledge of the plan said, a move that would strengthen Beijing's grip on its lenders.

Hutchison Whampoa Ltd <0013.HK>, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's flagship ports-to-telecoms company, is set to post a record high first-half net profit, thanks in part to hefty one-off gains from the spin-off of its port assets.

China is considering a proposal to create a ministerial-level body to manage its state-owned banks and non-bank financial enterprises, two sources with knowledge of the plan said, a move that would strengthen Beijing's grip on its lenders.

Asia-focused Standard Chartered Bank Plc reported a market-beating 17 percent rise in first-half pretax profit on Wednesday, helped by strong growth in some key markets such as Hong Kong, keeping it on track for another year of record profits.

While last month?s record-breaking temperatures do not seem to cool down, central and southern states continued to suffer in sizzling heat today and the heat wave is expected to expand eastward as the week continues. Check out lifesaving tips on heat wave safety and heat disorder symptoms, provided by the NWS to keep you safe during this heat wave:

A senior official at rating agency Standard & Poor's said on Wednesday that global markets have already discounted a possible U.S. ratings downgrade, and that Asian nations' ratings were generally on an uptrend despite global economic woes.

A homeless man was taken into Secret Service custody on Tuesday after he climbed over the White House fence.

Societe Generale warned it would struggle to reach its 2012 profit target as its exposure to Greece and a tougher economic backdrop took its toll on second-quarter earnings.

The United States had its triple-A rating confirmed by two key ratings agencies on Tuesday after Washington struck a last-minute deal to avoid a debt default, but threats of future downgrades remain.

Japan tried to keep yen bulls on guard on Wednesday, with finance minister repeating his warning that he was closely watching markets after the currency shot near record highs early this week.

A Boston teenager strangled his family friend with a dog chain before dousing his body with lighter fluid and setting it on fire as a punishment for enduring sexual abuse.

Societe Generale fell short of second-quarter profit and revenue forecasts, hampered by its Greek exposure, and warned its 2012 earnings goals would be tough to reach.

Goldman Sachs has stuck with the same auditing firm since 1926, Coca Cola since 1921, General Electric since 1909 and Procter & Gamble since 1890. That's going back 85, 90, 102 and 121 years.

China's central bank governor urged Washington Wednesday to act responsibly to deal with its debt issues, saying uncertainty in the Treasuries market will undermine the international monetary system and hamper global growth.

Google Inc's new social network has attracted 25 million users, making it the fastest website to reach that audience size, according to data released on Tuesday by comScore.

A Spring Valley man was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison for hanging "wanted dead or alive" posters offering a $3,000 reward for the death of his daughter's boyfriend.

The United States stepped back from the brink of default on Tuesday but congressional approval of a last-ditch deficit-cutting plan failed to dispel fears of a credit downgrade and future tax and spending feuds.

Smith Micro Software posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as revenue almost halved, and forecast weak third-quarter sales, sending its shares down 12 percent after hours.

Sonus Networks , which makes voice and data communication equipment, posted a surprise quarterly loss as longer deal cycles took its toll on gross margins, sending its shares down 8 percent after market.

U.S. new car buyers are richer and more demanding because they have more choice among brands that are closer in quality than ever before, Ford Motor Co's sales and marketing chief said on Tuesday.

A quadriplegic skydiver died in a tragic weekend accident when his disability prevented him from manually deploying his parachute and his emergency chute was not set to automatically release, said officials on Monday.

MetroPCS Communications Inc lost more than a third of its market value on Tuesday after it reported quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street expectations and warned that already-weak second-quarter subscriber numbers would worsen in the current quarter.

Apple is setting the stage for the launch of its iCloud service, with the company reaching out to app creators through a new iCloud beta on Tuesday as it gave developers access to the beta version of the service.

At an age when many actresses and women are consigned to be playing the role of grandmas, 66-year-old Dame Helen has a hot role to play as the reigning queen of the hottest female celebrity body of the year according to the yearly online poll

An autopsy on 11-year-old New Hampshire girl Celina Cass, whose body was found in the Connecticut River a week after she went missing, could not immediately pinpoint on Tuesday how she died.

Facebook, the top Social Networking site in the United States has announced the purchase of San Francisco-based Push Pop Press, an interactive iPad book maker.