IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group plans to announce two or three deals soon in Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, co-founder David Rubenstein said on Wednesday.

Iran released five Britons detained in the Gulf after their yacht apparently strayed into Iranian waters, Britain said Wednesday, averting a diplomatic row on top of Iran's disputes with the West over its nuclear program.

British fashion retailer New Look has moved closer to a stock market return by picking banks to handle a possible initial public offering (IPO) early next year, an industry source said on Wednesday.

Tiger Woods admitted in a statement posted on his website today, that he let his family down and regrets his transgressions with all his heart.

Britain has warned its EU partners not to stifle the City of London's financial services industry with excessive regulation, responding to concerns that France will push for tighter rules at its expense.

Israel reduced spending on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank during 2009, according to official figures which show just four building starts funded in the third quarter.

Yahoo Inc will let users of its email, photo-sharing and other online products link their content and activities directly into Facebook, the world's No. 1 Internet social network.

The U.S. labor market improved in November, with the number of jobs lost in the private sector falling again and the number of planned layoffs also easing, separate reports showed on Wednesday.

Hopes China's Tengzhong will complete the deal to buy General Motor's Hummer brand as early as this week appear unlikely to be fulfilled, with the regulator tasked with assessing the deal yet to receive a formal application, according to a regulatory source.

China's leading Internet firm Shanda Interactive Entertainment aims to buy more digital entertainment platforms and game content developers to diversify its revenue stream.

Professional golfer, Tiger Woods, issued a statement Wednesday on his website about the current events apologizing for his behavior.

Thirty thousand more U.S. troops for Afghanistan? Esmatullah only shrugged.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Fubon Financial are among the bidders for Morgan Stanley's stake in Chinese investment bank CICC, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in a deal that could be worth more than $1 billion.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged lawmakers on Wednesday to let regulators block companies from customizing derivatives contracts to avoid trading on central clearing houses.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday Iran would enrich uranium to a higher level itself, apparently ruling out a U.N.-brokered deal meant to dispel fears Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons capability.

A voicemail is circulating online as evidence that Tiger Woods had a love affairs with Jaimee Grubbs, a Los Angeles waitress who also appeared on VH1's Tool Academy.

Meredith Baxter who starred in the TV series Family Ties came out on NBC's Today Show to publically declare she is a later in life lesbian.

Canadian oil and natural gas trust Daylight Resources Trust said it will publicly offer C$150 million in debentures, and will use the proceeds partly to reduce debt.

The highly anticipated 3-D movie Avatar could make more than $250 million in the U.S. and Canada, and draw new audiences to 3-D films, Regal Entertainment Group's chief executive said on Tuesday.

Government-owned Dubai World will meet its main creditors next week to discuss a request to delay payment on $26 billion in debt that has shaken global markets and confidence in the Gulf Arab business hub.

Walgreen Co posted a smaller-than-expected rise in same-store sales in November, sending shares of the largest U.S. drugstore chain down more than 4 percent.

In the glow of the success of New Moon, independent film studio Summit Entertainment is ratcheting up its development slate with two projects that couldn't be further from vampire-romance territory.

Jesse Corti, Danielle Harris, Bill Moseley, Joe Pilato, Alona Tal and Cornell Womack are lending their voices to Night of the Living Dead: Origins, the 3D CGI reimagining of the George A. Romero zombie classic.

British actor Ben Kingsley, best known for his Oscar-winning role as Mahatma Ghandi, is looking to India again, this time for financing for another historic Indian role -- Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

Keith Arem, the talent director of the record-breaking Activision Blizzard video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, will make his feature directing debut with the action thriller Frost Road.

Indonesia's censors have banned Balibo, an Australian-made film about five foreign journalists who were killed by Indonesian troops during the 1975 invasion of East Timor.

PTT PCL, Thailand's top energy firm, said on Wednesday its sixth gas separation plant would start operations in early 2010 as planned after a court ruling in favour of the group.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment will introduce so-called flipper discs, containing traditional video on one side and an HD version on the flip side, for planned special-edition releases of The Bourne Identity and its two sequels.

Long before the lights, cameras and the action came to Bollywood, a family armed with a magic lantern breathed life into stories from Hindu mythology to audiences across India.