IBT Staff Reporter

Credit rating agency Moody's cut Hungary's sovereign rating by two notches, to just above junk grade, on Monday and said it may cut further if the government fails to put public finances on a sustainable footing.

The Federal Reserve could end up buying more than the $600 billion in U.S. government bonds it has committed to purchase if the economy fails to respond or unemployment stays too high, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said.

Miner Rio Tinto made a $3.5 billion bid approach for Africa-focused Riversdale Mining , sending the target firm's shares surging 16 percent and setting up a potential takeover battle.

Stock index futures slipped on Monday on jitters about the European debt crisis and with investors set to lock in profits after a strong market performance last week.

P Diddy says he is not responsible for breast cancer charities not getting funds for a party he hosted for a club

PhDs awarded in Science and Engineering in the United States shot up 1.9% over the previous year for the academic year ended June 2009, and the rise was entirely due to doctoral degrees earned by women.

Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman plans to take on the firm's top-paid bankers and may play hardball with bonus payouts this year, the New York Post said, citing people familiar with the plans.

Stock index futures fell on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a more sobering view of the economy and investors were set to lock in profits after a strong performance last week.

Euro zone finance ministers meeting on Monday face IMF pressure to increase the size of a 750 billion euro ($1,006 billion) safety net for debt-stricken members to halt contagion in the single currency bloc.

Euro zone finance ministers meeting on Monday face pressure to increase the size of a 750 billion euro ($1.006 trillion) safety net for debt-stricken members in order to halt contagion in the single currency bloc.

Oleg Nikolaenko, a 23-year old Russian, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he is the mastermind behind a notorious botnet, dubbed Mega-D, that controlled a network of infected computers and generated some 10 billion spam e-mails daily, or a third of the world's total.

The chief executive officer of Pfizer Inc,, the world's largest drugmaker, retired in an unexpected move to recharge his batteries after completing the mega merger with rival Wyeth.

China's currency peg hurts U.S. exports but is also bad for the Chinese economy, since it prevents the country's authorities from running their own monetary policy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said.

AOL Inc, undergoing a radical transformation into the king of content on the Internet, is actively exploring a breakup of the company involving a complicated series of transactions that may lead to a merger with Yahoo Inc, sources close to the plans said.

China's top telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies said on Monday that it has established a security center in Britain to allow its products and software to be examined and tested.

Ben Bernanke is ready for his close-up.As the Federal Reserve tries to counter suspicion of its latest $600 billion stimulus plan, it is making a concerted, if awkward, effort to raise the chairman's profile and harmonize the often-dissonant message from within the central bank.

The IMF will urge euro zone governments on Monday to boost the size of their rescue fund and recommend the European Central Bank buy more bonds to prevent the bloc's debt crisis from derailing economic recovery.

Ben Bernanke is ready for his close-up.As the Federal Reserve tries to counter suspicion of its latest $600 billion stimulus plan, it is making a concerted, if awkward, effort to raise the chairman's profile and harmonize the often-dissonant message from within the central bank.

Bank of America has told regulators that it has met the final condition in repaying the government's $45 billion bail-out funding, according to the Financial Times on Sunday.

Ben Bernanke is ready for his close-up.As the Federal Reserve tries to counter suspicion of its latest $600 billion stimulus plan, it is making a concerted, if awkward, effort to raise the chairman's profile and harmonize the often-dissonant message from within the central bank.

Facebook's Cartoon Characters campaign spills all over the internet with an anti-child abuse message. The move has taken over Twitter and Google Trends while media could not resist coverage. Despite skepticism, the campaign has managed to create an impact.

Australian former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to be prepared to use 'force' against China, if it does not allow itself to be integrated into the international community, leaked US diplomatic cables reveal. Describing himself as a 'brutal realist', the former PM, who is also Australia's current Foreign Affairs minister, reportedly maintained that deploying force should be an option 'if everything goes wrong' with regards to the commun...

Saudi Arabia is under pressure from the U.S. to keep a tab on funds for Islamic insurgents, leaked diplomatic cables reveal. Washington claims that the kingdom remained a critical financial support base for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Hamas and other extremist organizations. United States officials alleged that proscribed organizations have been managing to raise millions of dollars as funds from donors in Gulf, mainly during Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage and Ramadan month.

Spain's economic fundamentals are sound and the country will not appeal for financial support from the international aid mechanism, Spanish Economy Minister Elena Salgado said in an interview published on Sunday.

The euro zone should have a bigger rescue fund for member states in trouble, and the European Central Bank should boost its bond buying to prevent the sovereign debt crisis from derailing economic recovery, an IMF report obtained by Reuters said.

China needs to slow down its economy enough to cool inflation at home without putting a drag on growth in the rest of the world.

A German tourist has been killed by a shark at Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Iran has delivered the first consignment of locally produced raw uranium making its nuclear program self-sufficient, the country's top nuclear boss said on Sunday. The announcement came just a day before the Islamic republic is to resume the stalled nuclear talks with Germany and the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council on Monday and Tuesday in Geneva.

The Indian government is talking to companies using Research in Motion's's BlackBerry to gain access to their employees' secure communications when it is deemed necessary, an official told the Wall Street Journal.