IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stock index futures dipped on Wednesday after four straight days of gains for the benchmark S&P 500 as investors awaited data on the labor market and manufacturing.

U.S. stock index futures dipped on Wednesday after four straight days of gains for the benchmark S&P 500 as investors awaited data on the labor market and manufacturing.

Apple’s compititors have slowed down their production plans in the tablet market as they are unable to catch up with Apple’s iPad sales, JP Morgan said.

It seems certain the IMF will not pay its share of an aid tranche to Greece at the end of the month but the global lender is likely take part in any new program, a German newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Even before Twitter could launch its photo-sharing service, the not so private micro-blogging site, has landed Representative Anthony D. Weiner in a soup over a suggestive picture of a man's crotch in underwear that was sent to one of his female followers.

Shares were set to open slightly lower on Wednesday, after strong gains in the previous session, and as investors awaited further economic data to gauge the strength of recovery in the world's biggest economy At 5:03 a.m. ET, futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all down 0.1 percent.

More than 150 economists back House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner's call to match any increase in the debt limit with spending cuts of equal size, according to a letter released by the Republican leader's office on Wednesday.

Acer Inc, the world No 2 PC maker, will launch an ultrabook super-light computer model in the fourth quarter, its president said on Wednesday, and sees devices such as tablets and smartphones making up a third of revenue by 2015.

Investors offloaded shares in Nokia again on Wednesday, as analysts slashed price targets for the mobile phone maker after its profit warning and questioned whether it could ever recapture lost market share.

Microsof’t’s acquisition of the $8.5-billion worth Skype and heading to stitch it up to its other products like smartphones, sees great potential in American internet phone calling market.

Japanese auto sales fell by a third in May, the lowest total for the month since 1968, as car makers struggled to restart production after the earthquake and tsunami that roiled the country in March.

China's Lenovo is buying Germany's Medion in a deal valuing the consumer electronics retailer at around $900 million as the world's No.4 PC brand expands its market share in developed economies.

In the education of children there is nothing like alluring the interest and affection; otherwise you only make so many asses laden with books. This quote by Michel de Montaigne carries a world of meaning today, when education has become more 'competition' and less 'learning'.

Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca sent an apology letter to Argentina's Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca for inviting Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi, who is accused of planning the 1994 bombing of the Jewish center, which killed 85, a Reuters report stated.

AXA , Europe's second-largest insurer, launched a new five-year plan to boost profits and cut debt on Wednesday, kicking off with the cash sale of its Canadian unit for US$2.7 billion.

Greece and a team of EU/IMF/ECB inspectors are set to conclude talks by Thursday on a medium-term fiscal plan including the government's progress toward meeting budget targets, a Greek newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> said on Wednesday it will recall 105,784 early model Prius cars in Japan and overseas to fix a fault with the model's steering and gearbox.

The isolated ex-Soviet state Turkmenistan is planning to set up its own space agency, according to official newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan.

Lenovo, the world's No.4 PC brand, expects its PC market share in western Europe to rise from the current level of about 7 percent, helped by its acquisition of a German electronics firm, CEO Yang Yuanqing said on Wednesday.

Analysts who cover initial public offerings had little enthusiasm for first-quarter deals for debt-laden companies like hospital chain HCA Holdings Inc and pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Inc .

Lenovo, the world's No.4 PC brand, is launching a takeover offer worth more than $800 million for Germany's Medion, the first public takeover of a German company by a Chinese firm.

Australia's state-owned National Broadband Network awarded a contract to Sweden's Ericsson worth up to A$1.1 billion ($1.2 billion), the latest in a string of contracts to build the A$35.9 billion network.

China's third-largest online game operator Shanda Games is in acquisition talks with some social and mobile gaming firms in the United States and Asia, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

A measure to collect taxes from online retailers passed the State Assembly Tuesday, with a 46-16 vote.

Apple’s chief, Steve Jobs confirmed that Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and iOS 5 along with the much speculated iCloud will be presented at the the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6.

Yahoo Inc has resolved a dispute with partner Alibaba Group over the Chinese company's transfer of its prized online payments unit to its CEO Jack Ma, two sources close to the matter said.

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is known as a strong-willed and straight-talking leader, but some top money managers are betting she can mend fences and compromise with crucial partners in China.

Search engine behemoth Google will launch Google Offers, the search giant's Groupon competitor, on Wednesday, starting with Portland.

United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton will attend an international meeting next week to talk about the situation in Libya, as NATO seeks to accelerate the campaign to end his rule.