IBT Staff Reporter

The Directors Guild of America on Tuesday named Fiddler on the Roof director Norman Jewison the recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award to be given at a gala dinner and ceremony in January.

Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk agreed to sell its Rosti Technical Plastics Holding (RTP) unit to privately owned Swedish firm Nordstjernan AB for an undisclosed sum.

Regis Philbin's hip replacement surgery was successful, a representative of the morning talk show Live With Regis and Kelly said Tuesday.

Taking folic acid supplements doesn't appear to prevent colon polyps from coming back, new research shows, although it may be helpful for people who have low levels of the B vitamin in their blood.

Medical students are commonly stuck by needles but often fail to report their injuries to employee health services, placing them at risk for hepatitis, HIV and other blood borne diseases, results of a survey show.

Low-dose radiation from mammograms and chest X-rays may increase the risk of breast cancer in young women who are already at high risk because of family history or genetic susceptibility, Dutch researchers said on Tuesday.

British house builder Telford Homes Plc (TELF.L) swung to a first-half pretax profit as it sold more new homes, reinstated its dividend and said it expected full-year results to be in line with the market view.

Stung by the continuing struggle to make a vaccine against the swine flu pandemic, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Tuesday her department would review its approach to disaster preparedness.

The U.S. Senate made little progress on a broad healthcare overhaul on Tuesday, as members battled over cuts in coverage for the elderly and failed to vote on two pending amendments.

U.S. mortgage applications nudged higher last week, data from an industry group reported on Wednesday, as consumers showed a subdued reaction to the lowest interest rates in six months.

Half of all patients in intensive care units around the world have infections, and more than 70 percent are being given antibiotics -- a trend that could help more drug-resistant superbugs emerge, researchers reported on Tuesday.

The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms shrank in November to the lowest level in nearly two years, suggesting corporate labor force cuts are tapering off even if actual hiring appears a distant prospect.

U.S. stocks were poised for a flat open on Wednesday after a private-sector employment report showed an improvement from October but fell shy of forecasts.

The top U.S. battlefield commander said on Wednesday that President Barack Obama's 30,000-strong troop increase for the Afghan war would make a huge difference, as the White House prepared to sell the new strategy to Congress.

News, details on corporate bond issues in the European markets on Wednesday:

U.S. President Barack Obama's escalation of the war in Afghanistan challenges his generals to do more with slightly less than they wanted -- and much, much faster. The odds are against them.

A British Climate Scientist, one of the central figures in the climategate controversy over emails and other sensitive data published by hackers, has announced that he will step down as Director of the Climate Research Unit. The university said in a statement that Phil Jones would relinquish his position as director of Climatic Research Unit (CRU) until the completion of an independent review.

U.S. stock index futures were flat on Wednesday as investors awaited a private-sector employment report and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book of regional economic conditions.

A Bank of Japan policymaker signaled on Wednesday the central bank was open to adopting more measures to support the economy following its emergency meeting the previous day that offered extra short-term funding.

Daimler (DAIGn.DE) will switch production of roughly a fifth of its Mercedes C-Class models to the United States from Germany in 2014 in a move to avoid damaging currency fluctuations and protect its margins.

The yen weakened broadly on Wednesday as traders took Japan's new monetary policy measures as a cue to sell, while mixed signals from stocks and commodities kept the dollar in check.

The euro is on the strong side against the dollar and could strengthen more because of carry trades and speculative play on its possible further rise, IMF European head Marek Belka said on Wednesday.

U.S. stock index futures were flat on Wednesday as investors awaited a private-sector employment report and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book of regional economic conditions.

Britain's top share index shed 0.4 percent by midday on Wednesday, with falls by banks and oils offsetting gains by miners, Vodafone (VOD.L) and some defensives.

U.S. stock index futures were flat on Wednesday as investors awaited a private-sector employment report and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book of regional economic conditions.

Google is offering news publishers a way to attract paying subscribers without having to remove their content from Google News search results, after some media companies accused it of profiting from their online news.

The yen weakened broadly on Wednesday as traders took Japan's new monetary policy measures unveiled the previous day as a cue to sell, while mixed signals from stocks and commodities kept the dollar in check.

Contagion from emerging markets Ukraine and Dubai, debt in the eurozone's weakest economies, British politics, climate talks in Copenhagen and tensions with Tehran could all affect Western European markets in December.

News, details on corporate bond issues in the European markets on Wednesday: