IBT Staff Reporter

Brent crude oil edged above $124 a barrel Wednesday as support from a weaker dollar, ahead of a Federal Reserve statement expected to maintain loose monetary policy, countered rising U.S. inventories.

President Barack Obama obtained an exception from Hawaii's State Department of Health to release a copy of his long form birth certificate, publishing it on the White House web site.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is stepping into another legal battle over gadgets, this time between Nokia and Apple.

Apple announced today that the white iPhone 4 will be on store shelves tomorrow, April 28.

Sony PlayStation gamers expressed shock and disappointment on Wednesday at a massive data hack in which their names, addresses and credit-card details might have been stolen from the PlayStation Network.

President Barack Obama will announce a shift his top military and intelligence leadership ranks with on Thursday, as the nearing retirement of Defense Secretary Robert Gates will prompt a move to replace him with CIA Director Leon Panetta and fill Panetta's position with well-regarded General David Petraeus, the top military official in Afghanistan.

Boeing Co's first-quarter profit rose 13 percent, topping Wall Street expectations, and the company reaffirmed its full-year outlook that reflects an ongoing recovery in the commercial aerospace industry.

In the third edition of the El Classico marathon, Real Madrid host Barcelona in the Champions League semifinal in what promises to be an enthralling contest.

Standard and Poor's threatened to cut Japan's sovereign credit rating again, warning the huge cost of last month's devastating earthquake will hurt already weak public finances unless bickering politicians can agree to raise taxes.

U.S. stocks index futures rose on Wednesday as investors bet the Federal Reserve would indicate more of the same easy monetary policy and anticipated more forecast-beating earnings.

Portugal may get more leeway on its efforts to reduce the budget deficit under an EU/IMF bailout, a newspaper reported on Wednesday, after the prime minister vowed to protect the country from excessive austerity.

Sony Corp suffered a huge breach in its video game online network that allowed the theft of names, addresses and possibly credit card data belonging to 77 million user accounts, in one of the largest Internet security break-ins ever.

Nokia <NOK1V.HE>, the world's largest phone maker by volume, will lay off 4,000 people and outsource another 3,000 to Accenture <ACN.N> as part of a plan to slash annual spending by 1 billion euros ($1.46 billion).

Before the crucial Champions League El Classico semifinal between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Guardiola responded sharply to Mourinho's comments about his reaction to refereeing decision.

BP Plc reported a 2 percent drop in first-quarter profit, falling short of analysts' forecasts as the lingering effects of the oil spill frustrated Chief Executive Bob Dudley's attempts to turn around the oil major.

BP Plc reported a 2 percent drop in first-quarter profits, falling short of analysts' forecasts, as the lingering effects of the oil spill frustrated Chief Executive Bob Dudley's attempts to turn around the oil giant.

Telecoms gear maker Ericsson blasted past first-quarter core profit expectations thanks to surging mobile broadband sales and hopes to resolve Japan quake supply problems later this year.

High and mighty of India turn up for the funeral of Sathya Sai Baba, who was laid to rest with state honors at his ashram in Puttaparthi on Wednesday. Scroll down to see photos of the spiritual leader's departure:

World number two truck maker Volvo AB rolled out proof of surging market demand on Wednesday and reassured investors worried about cost pressures with forecast-beating profit margins.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.04 percent to 0.2 percent.

NBC's new singing competition 'The Voice' garners mixed response. While the viewers poured praises on show and judges online, the critics seem to be far from impressed.

Telecoms gear maker Ericsson blasted past first-quarter core profit expectations thanks to surging mobile broadband equipment sales, and said it hoped to have post-Japan quake supply problems ironed out by the end of the third quarter.

American Pharmacies, a member-owned independent pharmacy cooperative based in Texas, is taking on Humana and Walmart via the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for discriminating against some pharmacies in Humana’s new Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP).

World number two truck maker Volvo AB posted a bigger-than-expected rise in first-quarter earnings on Wednesday and raised its forecast for truck markets in both Europe and North America.

Manchester United had the easiest Champions League semifinal against Schalke 04 as the English leaders won 2-0 at the Veltins-Arena and will take the lead into the second leg at Old Trafford next week.

The U.S. dollar plumbed a near 3-year low against other major currencies on Wednesday before a Federal Reserve decision, which is expected to reinforce an ultra-easy policy stance and drive more capital to buoyant emerging Asian stock markets.

The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) issued the following statement in response to today's ruling by Federal District Court in the Central District of California, overturning California Senate Bill 990 (SB 990), a state law governing the cleanup of Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a former federal government rocket engine and energy testing facility in southern California:

The boy-band supergroup New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys (NKOTBSB) Tuesday stopped over at Dancing With The Stars before hitting the road for the much-awaited tour set to kick start June 2 in Connecticut.

China's economy may grow by 9.6 percent in the second quarter of 2011, a government think tank said in a report on Wednesday, keeping pace with first quarter growth.