IBT Staff Reporter

The former head of the AIG unit that drove the insurer to the brink of collapse said he could have saved taxpayers money if allowed to settle claims with firms like Goldman Sachs, instead of being sidelined before a 2008 bailout.

Stocks rose on Wednesday on signs of improved Midwest business activity and bargain-hunting a day after the S&P 500 fell to an eight-month low.

Japan's Sony Corp said on Wednesday that about 535,000 units of its Vaio brand personal computers globally may be in danger of overheating and that it has provided software on its website to eliminate the problem.

Unemployment is likely to stay high for a long time, two Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday, suggesting the U.S. central bank is in no rush to raise its ultra-low interest-rate policy.

The former head of the AIG unit which drove the insurer to the brink of collapse, broke a long silence on Wednesday and defended his role in an aggressive buildup of risky mortgage-linked securities.

Google Inc could face further pressure for its other products in China as Beijing is due to decide whether or not to renew a license for the firm's flagship search engine in the world's largest Internet market.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday on signs of improved Midwest business activity and bargain-hunting a day after the S&P 500 fell to an eight-month low.

France's antitrust regulator accused Google Inc of a lack of transparency over its keyword advertising service and ordered it to clarify conditions for the product within four months.

The much-maligned former head of the American International Group unit which drove the insurer to the brink of collapse, broke a long silence on Wednesday to defend his firm's aggressive buildup of risky mortgage-linked securities.

The International Business Times last week held an exclusive interview with Todd B. Crosland, Chairman and President of Interbank FX, one of the most exciting Forex brokers in the US.

U.S. biotechnology company Celgene Corp has agreed to acquire Abraxis BioScience Inc , which makes an innovative chemotherapy treatment, for $2.9 billion in cash and stock.

The U.S. dollar's share of global currency reserves eased slightly to 61.5 percent in the first quarter of 2010 as total holdings climbed to a new record, International Monetary Fund data showed on Wednesday.

U.S. bank lending continues to decline even though the banking sector is recovering, and it may be years before lending returns to pre-crisis levels, Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke said on Wednesday.

Private sector employment rose less than expected in June, underscoring concerns about a weak labor market, while U.S. Midwest business activity grew slightly more than expected.

It sounds like a dream vacation: Watch the sunrise on your private veranda with freshly-made espresso - no rush! Spend the morning visiting quaint villages and small museums, lunchtime in the yard barbecuing freshly-caught fish, and the afternoon lounging around your private pool.

Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Corp's initial public offering zoomed ahead on Tuesday with shares rallying more than 40 percent as investors bet that electric cars would define the future of transportation.

The U.S. recovery is underway, but inflation is so low and unemployment is so high that the Federal Reserve's super easy monetary policy is still called for, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said on Wednesday.

A broad coalition of U.S. business groups urged senators on Wednesday not to approve a bill that would allow the United States to use import duties against China's exchange rate policy. We agree that China needs an exchange rate that better responds to global trade flows, the U.S.-China Business Council and about two dozen other groups said in a letter to each member of the Senate.

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Gold slipped lower in Europe on Wednesday, caught up in selling of stocks and other commodities after a report showed U.S. private sector employers added fewer jobs than expected in June. The precious metal is still set to be the best-performing metal of the second quarter, however, as fears over the global growth outlook and the stability of the banking system fuel haven demand for the metal.

Patriotic, anti-American messages adorn the pages of two alleged Russian spies on Russia's answer to Facebook, a reminder of historic suspicions and resentments that have survived the end of the Cold War.

Stocks edged up on Wednesday after a heavy sell-off in the previous session as concerns eased about the financial condition of European banks.

Private employers added just 13,000 jobs in June, according to a report published on Wednesday that suggested expectations of a big drop in the government's upcoming nonfarm payrolls report were on target.

Figures on Wednesday showing the U.S. private sector added a paltry 13,000 jobs were disappointing and are consistent with expectations for a big drop in the upcoming non-farm payrolls report, Macroeconomic Advisers LLC chairman Joel Prakken said.

U.S. private employers added a paltry 13,000 jobs in June, compared to a revised gain of 57,000 in May, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

Nearly one out of every three U.S. home sales in the first quarter was a foreclosure property as steep price discounts boosted demand for distressed real estate, RealtyTrac said in a new report on Wednesday.

Oil rose above $76 a barrel in choppy trade on Wednesday, but remained on course for its first quarterly decline since 2008 as stresses in financial markets and weak employment numbers weighed on the pace of recovery.

MF Global (MF.N) has closed its Asia fuel oil swaps broking desk following the departures of all its brokers for the product, the company said on Wednesday. We can confirm that the fuel oil desk in Singapore is no longer a part of MF Global. We have no plans at this time to restart the desk, a company spokeswoman in New York told Reuters.

Refinancing drove total U.S. mortgage applications to an eight-month peak, as loan rates fell to or near record lows, but demand to buy homes sank toward 13-year lows last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.