IBT Staff Reporter

Japanese stocks rebounded on Wednesday from a major pummeling that some investors thought overdone, lifting equities elsewhere and allowing the yen to dip from a near record high against the dollar.

Brent crude by as much as $2 to over $110.50 a barrel on Wednesday, rebounding from a three-week low near the start of the session as clashes in the Middle East continued and the Japanese nuclear crisis worsened.

Bahrain on the boil as forces muzzle anti-government protests after the mobilization of military and security forces and imposition of state of emergency.

If the world’s largest atom smasher - the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) - ever finds the elusive Higgs boson particle, the giant instrument could be the first machine capable of causing matter to travel backwards in time.

Private equity firm KKR & Co LP is increasing the sources of capital it taps as it gears up to raise its next buyout fund, the company said at its first ever investor day on Tuesday.

Asian financial markets rallied on Wednesday, with Tokyo stocks rebounding 5.7 percent after a steep two-day sell-off on Japan's killer earthquake and unfolding nuclear crisis.

Brent crude fell as much as 1.1 percent to touch a three-week low near $107 on concern about Japan's nuclear crisis, but recovered to erase losses as Bahraini security forces attempted to clear protesters on Wednesday.

Celebs like 50 cent, Gilbert Gottfried, and now the 'Family Guy' scriptwriter Alec Sulkin have sparked off a row with insensitive tweets on the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

The following is the known status as of Wednesday afternoon of each of the six reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the four reactors at the Fukushima No. 2 plant, both in Fukushima Prefecture, which were crippled by Friday's magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami, according to Kyodo News Agency.

Publishing U.S. diplomatic cables helped shape uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange said on Tuesday.

As Japan continues to reel under the after effects of the powerful earthquake that struck the country's Pacific Coast on Friday afternoon, the world still stands aghast at the devastation caused by the quake and the consequent tsunami. As the rescue, rehabilitation and rebuilding efforts start, the country is under severe threat of a nuclear disaster as the plants continue to report explosions and fires.

IntercontinentalExchange Inc CEO Jeffrey Sprecher and Nasdaq OMX Group CEO Robert Greifeld know what it is to try -- and fail -- to take over another exchange.

The container of the No.3 reactor of the troubled Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant might have been damaged and leaked radioactive steam, the Xinhua reported.

Brent crude fell more than $1 on Wednesday to a three-week low near $107 as pessimism about Japan's nuclear crisis offset concern about Middle East unrest after Bahrain declared martial law.

A fire broke out once again early Wednesday but no flames were visible a half hour later at Fukushima power plant No. 1's No. 4 reactor, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.

Yahoo Inc has hired Ken Fuchs, an executive at Time Warner Inc's Time Inc to oversee its sports, games and entertainment online properties, the company announced in an internal memo on Tuesday.

Fidelity Investments plans to close an operation in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and move many of the 1,100 jobs there to other New England locations, a spokeswoman for the giant fund firm said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange said it has no plan to suspend operations despite steep falls in share prices after Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami, responding to rumors in the New York market that the bourse would close.

Fidelity Investments plans to close an operation in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and move many of the 1,100 jobs there to other New England locations, a spokeswoman for the giant fund firm said.

Foreign firms set up evacuation plans in Tokyo and parts of northern Japan on Tuesday in a bid to distance staff from a quake-crippled nuclear plant while keeping their businesses running.

There is another fire at the No. 4 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said at dawn on Wednesday.

Four senators on Tuesday urged President Barack Obama's administration to step up its fight against China's hoarding of critical rare earth elements by blocking funding for Chinese mining projects.

The aftermath of Japan's disastrous earthquake and tsunami could temporarily ease the rise in rare earth prices, but overall demand is likely to continue to outstrip supply for the next few years, an industry executive said.

The prospect of extended supply disruption caused by Japan's devastating earthquake drove prices for key technology parts higher on Tuesday.

Stocks fell 1 percent but ended far from session lows on Tuesday on the Federal Reserve's more upbeat economic view and growing sentiment that Japan's nuclear crisis would only temporarily depress shares.

American workers are more pessimistic about their retirement outlook than at any other time in the last two decades, the Employee Benefit Research Institute reported on Tuesday.

Japan's soldiers have been assigned the grim task of searching for victims and survivors of Friday's 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday the U.S. recovery is gaining traction and inflation pressure from soaring energy costs should be short-lived, allowing it to maintain its heavy support for the economy.

A comprehensive settlement between U.S. authorities and banks over alleged mortgage servicing abuses needs to be reached quickly to help the housing market heal, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.