IBT Staff Reporter

Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest automaker, said it plans to recall four models of its Lexus luxury car in Japan due to steering problems, its latest move in a series of massive recalls.

The chief executive of Rolls-Royce has sold around half of his personal shareholding in the company, ahead of an expected hike in capital gains tax in next month's emergency Budget.

Authorities are investigating after four suspicious packages were sent to Toyota Motor Corp U.S. facilities in the past week that were later found not to contain threatening materials.

Deere & Co reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, and raised its full-year outlook, citing improving business conditions including a recovery in the hard-hit market for construction equipment.

Mexican auto supplier Metalsa SA de CV said on Tuesday it is not engaged in talks with Tata Motors Ltd about making Tata vehicles in Mexico.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as Germany's decision to ban naked short-selling of certain financial instruments fueled investor worries about exposure to riskier assets and about the global economy.

Fewer than 2 percent of mobile users in the United States and western Europe used their phone to download music in the first quarter, showing the uphill task facing Apple iTunes challengers like Nokia.

Google has overtaken Microsoft in the battle over the software that runs mobile phones and is challenging Apple for share of the fast growing smartphone market.

Italy has started an investigation into Google Inc's Street View web service, a local watchdog said on Wednesday following the U.S. group's announcement it had accidentally collected personal data over wireless networks.

Persuading Beijing to let its yuan currency rise in value is not simply an issue for the United States but one that should interest the whole world, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.

The plunge in oil prices in the wake of the euro crisis has OPEC worried. Qatar oil minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah emerged as an unofficial spokesman for the oil cartel over the weekend in a series of news agency reports from the Gulf that signaled the group's concern.

Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes shriveled to a 13-year low last week, following the expiration of federal tax credits, while near-record low mortgage rates stoked refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Stocks dropped on Wednesday after Germany's decision to ban naked short-selling of certain financial instruments and comments from its chancellor on the safety of the euro rattled investors.

Fidelity Investments said average U.S. retirement-account balances continued to rise in the first quarter as stock markets recovered and more savers resumed contributions to their 401 savings accounts.

Target Corp posted a higher quarterly profit as consumers loosened their wallets to spend on items including clothing and electronics.

We’ve all been there – sifting through the various job ad postings, sending through resume after resume, and all we want to do is get the application process over with as fast as possible. Everyone tells you to at least take a few minutes to tailor your resume and cover letter to each job you apply for.

Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes shriveled to a 13-year low last week, following the expiration of federal tax credits, while near-record low mortgage rates stoked refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Home sales in Southern California in April ticked down from a year earlier while the region's median home price jumped more than 15 percent over the same time as the area's housing market marked more small steps toward recovery.

Consumer prices unexpectedly fell in April, the first decline in a year, and the core annual rate recorded its smallest gain since 1966, suggesting scope for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates near zero for some time.

Discount retailer Target Corp and warehouse club operator BJ's Wholesale Club Inc posted higher-than-expected quarterly earnings as consumers began to spend on more than just everyday basics.

Stock index futures were set for a lower open on Wednesday as markets were unnerved by Germany's decision to ban naked short selling of certain financial instruments and comments from its chancellor that the euro was in danger.

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped in the latest week, according to real estate website Zillow.com on Tuesday, a move that bodes well for the hard-hit housing market as it copes with the absence of government support.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday that he wanted to see Europe follow through with its rescue package aimed at stemming the spread of the Greek debt crisis.

Google Inc is posing a bigger challenge to Apple Inc in the mobile world as more and more start-ups develop applications for Google's Android software, venture capitalists said on Tuesday.

(Reuters) - A drug approved to treat a range of conditions may also work to prevent lung cancer in people who have given up smoking, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

(Reuters) - Male sex hormones may explain why men who suffer from the hepatitis B liver disease are more likely to develop liver cancer than women, researchers in Taiwan have found.

Lions Gate Entertainment has spoken to billionaire investor Carl Icahn a couple of times over his hostile $7 per share offer for the company, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Samsung Electronics plans to launch the first smartphone based on its own operating system in the next few weeks, as it seeks to catch up with bigger rivals in the booming high-end market.

Twitter, the rapidly expanding microblogging service, plans to have hundreds of advertisers using its new ad system in the fourth quarter as the company ramps up plans to become a self-sustaining, profitable business.