IBT Staff Reporter

ExxonMobil Corp has awarded contracts for parts of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea to Japan's Chiyoda Corp and JGC Corp, Exxon said in a statement on Wednesday.

The U.S. bankruptcy court judge presiding over Pilgrim's Pride Corp's reorganization has said he would approve the chicken company's reorganization plan once some wording in it was resolved, Pilgrim's Pride spokesman Ray Atkinson told Reuters in an e-mail.

Iran believes the United States is holding a former deputy defence minister who disappeared in 2007 and 10 other Iranian nationals, according to a list carried by the semi-official Mehr news agency on Wednesday.

China said on Wednesday it wanted the United States to offer sharper carbon cuts by 2020, and President Barack Obama's top aides promised robust engagement with world leaders at Copenhagen climate talks.

GlaxoSmithKline has started a second large-scale clinical trial with experimental heart drug darapladib, increasing its investment in the new type of medicine for clogged arteries.

Caltex Australia Ltd, the nation's only listed refiner, flagged a weak outlook for the first half of 2010 on Wednesday and said it would close down a lubricant refinery, sending its shares down 5 percent.

South Korea's largest mobile carrier SK Telecom said on Wednesday its talks to buy a major stake in a credit card unit from Hana Financial Group were in an advanced stage.

Upscale retailer Neiman Marcus Inc reported sharply lower quarterly profit as worried consumers continued to avoid luxury items amid a slowdown the company expects will last for some time.

Stocks dipped on Wednesday as an unexpected rise in wholesale inventories was offset by an outlook from Texas Instruments Inc that suggested the recovery in technology spending would be sluggish.

AT&T Inc expects to pass 2 million customers for its U-Verse video service today, Ralph de la Vega, the company's head of its wireless business and consumer markets, said on Wednesday.

Tiger Woods and his embattled wife Elin Nordegren may leave the country to get away from it all according to a report from FOXNews.com.

Is soy food helpful or harmful for women with breast cancer? Studies have yielded mixed results. A new study published today suggests that breast cancer survivors may benefit from eating moderate amounts of soy products.

Health experts warned Wednesday of a stroke crisis in Europe which is already costing the region's economy an estimated 38 billion euros ($56 billion) a year, with numbers expected to rise as populations age.

Children and young people who survive cancer have a significantly higher risk of developing heart disease as young adults because of the cancer treatment they received, researchers said Wednesday.

U.S. advisers felt MRI imaging drugs from GE Healthcare and Covidien appear to carry a higher risk of a serious skin disease in some patients than similar products, a Food and Drug Administration official said on Tuesday.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday moved to extend the government's $700 billion bailout fund into October 2010 and pledged to deploy no more than $550 billion of it.

Myanmar's detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been insincere and dishonest in her offer to meet the country's military ruler and push for the lifting of Western sanctions, state media said on Wednesday.

Secretary of Defence Robert Gates visited U.S. commanders in Afghanistan on Wednesday, promising that President Barack Obama's surge of extra forces would give them what they need for success against the Taliban.

Residents of poor neighborhoods may die sooner than residents of wealthier neighborhoods - regardless of what they eat, how active they are, or other individual risk factors, new research suggests.

BlackRock Inc . Chief Executive Officer Laurence Fink is worried that some financial regulatory proposals under consideration could do more harm than good.

Roche Holding AG said on Wednesday three studies on its drugs used to treat early and advanced breast cancer showed good results.

As little as 15 minutes of physical activity a day can substantially cut death rates in men with prostate cancer, new research hints.

Holding off on introducing certain foods in order to prevent children from becoming allergic to them may be counterproductive.

Apple's iTunes on Tuesday released Rewind 2009, its lists of the year's best and best-selling media. Black Eyed Peas' Boom Boom Pow was the best-selling song at the country's leading music retailer. Kings of Leon's Only by the Night was the best-selling album and also was named best album of the year.

About 20 percent of kidney dialysis patients who undergo a procedure to open a blocked artery are given the wrong blood clot medicine, increasing the chances of significant bleeding, researchers said Tuesday.

For more than 20 years, Colin Firth has been the movie industry's go-to, buttoned-up English man.

Refinancing Drives Mortgage Activity; Modest Expansion for Economy; Chrysler Will Take Short Term Losses

They came, they conquered ... they were never heard from again. After reaching the Hot 100's Top 10 with their very first singles, none of these acts managed to crack the Top 25 for the rest of the decade. But hey, four minutes of fame is better than nothing.

American pop singer-songwriter Pink will headline the 2010 Wireless festival in London's Hyde Park on July 2.