IBT Staff Reporter

A presidential commission trying to balance the budget on Wednesday softened a proposed tax overhaul to win broader support for its bold plan to slash the $1.3 trillion federal deficit.

Del Monte Foods, one of the country's largest producers, distributors and marketers of branded food and pet products for the U.S. retail market, has agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) for $5.3 billion, including debt.

A Danish company is planning to build fuel cells that can be used in the home, powered by natural gas.

Sen. Jim Bunning, R-KY expressed anger Wednesday that the potential for another mortgage crisis remains, despite efforts to deal with the mortgage crisis over the past decade.

A U.S. district court jury has returned a verdict that business software maker SAP AG has stolen software from rival Oracle Corp. and must pay the latter $1.3 billion in damages.

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-NH, stated the obvious today regarding a plan to deal with the nation’s long-term fiscal well-being. He said, There are no easy fixes here.”

The wireless network provider says the new network will be 10 times faster than 3G.

Groupon announced a handful of deals on Wednesday to expand its presence in Silicon Valley and in Asia, as Google Inc remains in talks to acquire the online discount coupon provider.

Unemployment insurance expired for approximately 800,000 out-of-work Americans yesterday, and two million more will lose their benefits at the end of the year, unless Congress takes action to extend the benefits.

The U.S. government had been secretly sheltering Nazi war criminals for several years and has clashed with other nations over their fate, a 600-page report, which the Department of Justice has tried to keep hidden from the public, reveals.

Spot Gold touched a near 3-week high for Dollar investors above $1396 per ounce in London trade on Wednesday, but slipped back from new record highs in Euros and Sterling as the US currency dipped on the forex market.

The founder of the controversial whistleblower website, Wikileaks, has been placed on Interpol’s international wanted persons list, the international police organization announced today.

U.S. online retail sales on Cyber Monday hit an all-time high and surpassed $1 billion for the first time for any single day of web shopping, according to research firm comScore Inc.

Apple has been accorded a U.S. patent that related to a technology that allows multiple users to view 3D images on a screen sans a 3D glass.

After facebook, Twitter, now LinkedIn is focused on its “new share button”.

No central bank ever began a hyper-inflationary policy because it feared inflation. Such disasters always come because of vanished credit and economic depression. And whether in Germany nine decades ago, or in Argentina twenty years back, or in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe around the turn of this century, stuff actually gets cheaper - not more expensive - in real terms during hyperinflation.

Johnny Depp says that Disney bosses were not comfortable with his portrayal of Captain Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies

women's group angry at her for filming a love story about a Bosnian rape victim and a Serb

Reese Witherspoon admits she is partly responsible for her divorce

Heavyweight boxer Audley Harrison has announced his decision to continue boxing after being shrouded in criticism following his abysmal performance against David Haye in the WBA World Heavyweight title challenge.

Neve Campbell to divorce English actor husband

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stormed into offices of three large hedge funds in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts and seized documents in a string of raids that is being billed as a crackdown on insider trading by hedge funds, mutual funds and investment bankers.

The U.S. private sector employment saw the largest gain in three years in November, according to a report by ADP, but will not be sufficient to reduce the high unemployment rate plaguing the country.

European researchers have shown that the world's fastest camera - Megaframe Imager - could potentially be a powerful technology in biosensing.

Militants who orchestrated the 26/11 attacks on India might have been trying to prevent the Pakistan Government from moving its army away from the Indian border, U.S. diplomatic cables suggest. Officials in London feared that the Indians would retaliate with an increase in covert activities in Balochistan or even by bombarding militant camps in Occupied Kashmir.

India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the original tapes containing conversations between corporate lobbyist Nira Radia and others pertaining to the 2G spectrum allocation to be handed over to it in a sealed cover after industrialist and chairman of Tata group Ratan Tata moved the apex court on Monday seeking action against those involved in the leakage of tapes containing his conversation with Radia..

Congress is looking at whether a do not track law, while internet advertisers and web software companies craft a response.

Holders Manchester United were shocked by West Ham at Upton Park as the Hammers cruised to the semi-finals with a 4-0 victory against United in the quarter-finals of the English League Cup aka The Carling Cup, while Arsenal secured their spot in the semis with a 2-0 win over Wigan.

A group called “Manhattan Declaration” has written a letter to Steve Jobs to restore the “anti-gay” apps from the Apple store, the Manhattan Declaration blog said.