IBT Staff Reporter

The euro zone could create an optional set of stronger debt rules which financially sound countries could choose to adopt, European Central Bank Governing Council member Athanasios Orphanides said on Wednesday.

Some of suburbs just west of the nation's capital have the highest household median income in the nation, while several of the counties containing American Indian reservations in a pair of northern plain states have the highest poverty rates, new estimates from the Census Bureau reveal.

Bernard Madoff's son Mark, who committed suicide on the second anniversary of his father's arrest, has been cremated and a private gathering will be held in his memory, his wife said in a statement on Wednesday.

Ireland's government has injected an additional 525 million euros into EBS via special investment shares that will be translated into ordinary shares if the building society is converted into a company.

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday on a three-day visit seeking to boost mutual trust and understanding, and cement trade and economic ties between China and India.

The prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has named six high-profile Kenyans including senior politicians and a former police chief who were suspected to be behind the violence that followed the disputed 2007 elections. Close to 1,200 people lost their lives while over 650,000 were displaced in the riots. Kenyan police are on high alert after the announcement which observers say could spark renewed clashes in the region.

The United States will lead the rich world's economic recovery over the next two years while Japan and major European economies flounder by comparison, according to Reuters polls of more than 200 economists.

Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) in the U.S. expect improved employment rates and wage growth in the coming year, according to a joint study by Duke University and CFO Magazine.

U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines Inc said it expects solid earnings growth in 2011, but its shares eased 1.4 percent as it pared its operating margin forecast for the current quarter, citing TransAtlantic softness.

Stocks rose modestly on Wednesday after encouraging economic data and as investors continued to favor shares that have seen strong gains.

Dutch financial institutions, many of which were hit in the 2008 crisis, are likely be on the list of global too-big-to-fail banks and will need to meet new extra capital requirements, the central bank said on Wednesday. Regulators and central bankers, headed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, are still debating which global banks should be considered systemically important fin...

A combination of electricity demand and the need to reduce fossil fuel use should be fueling a renaissance of nuclear power. But that could be derailed by opposition from an unexpected quarter: fiscal conservatives.

African football club TP Mazembe created history on Tuesday by becoming the first African side to reach the FIFA Club World Cup final after upsetting Brazilian club Internacional with a 2-0 win in Abu Dhabi.

Industrial output rose 0.4 percent in November, its biggest gain since July and the latest sign of a firmer end to the year for the world's largest economy, a report showed on Wednesday.

An exclusive interview with Professor Valérie Gauthier, Associate Dean, HEC MBA Program

Amid a report Microsoft will introduce a slew of tablets at the Consumer Electronics Show, analysts say the company could be in trouble if it doesn't get its mobile act together.

Apple has launched its first iAd for iPad, the upcoming sci-fi Disney flick Tron Legacy, after launching the iAd feature in April.

Google Inc's new Chrome PC may meet with chilly demand from China as tensions between Beijing and the search giant curb the latter's offerings and as netbook sales slowly fall off the cliff in the world's second largest PC market.

Registrations of new passenger cars in Europe decreased by 7.1% amounting to 1,069,268 units, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.

The first Chevrolet Volt attracted a impressive winning bid of $225,000 in an online charity action that ended at 6 pm U.S. time on Tuesday.

India’s state-controlled investigating agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday raided the premises of corporate lobbyist Nira Radia, former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Pradeep Baijal and former telecom minister A Raja’s relatives in connection with the $39 billion 2G spectrum scam.

Employment rates remained mostly stable in the euro area during the third quarter, dropping only by 0.2 percent, while unemployment rate in the U.K. touched its highest since the beginning of the year.

Industrial production rebounded in November in its biggest gain since July, pointing to an acceleration in the pace of the recovery during the fourth quarter.

Ratings agency Moody's warned Spain on Wednesday its credit rating could be downgraded, highlighting concerns about euro zone debt contagion on the eve of a European Union summit.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) raised its holiday sales forecast to 3.3 percent, or $451.5 billion, from 2.3 percent, saying stock market gains and income growth combined with great deals on merchandise have given consumers the capacity to spend.

Stocks edged higher on Wednesday as better-than-expected data on U.S. manufacturing and industrial activity outweighed worries about euro-zone debt sparked by a warning on Spain's credit rating.

A British court will decide on Thursday whether to free WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, scourge of the U.S. establishment for his leaks of diplomatic cables, on 200,000 pound ($317,000) bail over accusations of sex crimes in Sweden.

Stock index futures dipped on Wednesday after a warning for Spain about its credit rating, rekindling fears about euro-zone debt.

Ireland's main opposition party said on Wednesday it was obscene that a multi-billion euro EU/IMF bailout package protected senior bondholders in Ireland's banks at the expense of stretched taxpayers.