IBT Staff Reporter

Bank of America Corp has asked a Manhattan federal court to dismiss an investor class-action lawsuit over its Merrill Lynch & Co purchase, including disclosures about Merrill's losses and bonus payouts.

The head of the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday called for a harmonized, pan-European regulatory framework for central clearing houses to help bring down costs and increase trading volumes in the region.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, supported by data that pointed to stabilization in the labor and housing markets, areas that have fed concerns about a double dip recession.

The initial site that posted an offensive image of Michelle Obama as a chimpanzee has removed it and posted an apology, while another site, FlyLifeStyle, still has it up. Google, meanwhile, has refused to remove the offensive image from its image search engine under the search term Michelle Obama, despite complaints that it is racist.

U.S. stocks rose up on Wednesday, supported by data that pointed to stabilization in the labor and housing markets, areas that have been stoking concerns of a double dip recession.

U.S. software company Oracle will present to European Union regulators on Dec. 10 its case for buying computer maker Sun Microsystems, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

Leading euro zone officials expect no immediate results from talks in China this weekend to push for an appreciation of the yuan, euro zone sources said. We are reasonable enough to understand that two months is not feasible, and we are determined enough to convey the message that two years is too long, one of the sources said of European views on when the yuan should be allowed to rise.

A car expert says he has tracked down Hitler's favorite Mercedes to a garage near the town that helped the Austrian-born Fuehrer become a German citizen.

Best Buy is offering this Black Friday what it calls, the first-ever, value priced HP laptop. In a very aggressive bid to lure more customers to its store, Best Buy announced low $197 price tag for a Hewlett-Packard laptop running Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit). The HP comes with a 15.6-inch screen and an Intel Celeron 900 processor.

Porsche SE is headed for a second consecutive annual loss in the billions of euros as the hangover lingers from a failed takeover of Volkswagen AG.

U.S. mortgage rates sank to or near record lows in the past week, home funding company Freddie Mac said, improving affordability in a battered U.S. housing market that is starting to gather steam.

U.S. consumer spending and housing sales rose more than expected in October while new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week, suggesting the economic recovery was gaining traction.

General Motors targeted Germany on Wednesday for the bulk of 9,000 planned job cuts at European arm Opel, turning the tables on the country that lobbied hardest for an Opel sale to Canada's Magna.

Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes in October rose more than expected to their highest level in a year, data showed on Wednesday, pointing to a stabilizing housing market after a three-year slump.

U.S. stocks edged up on Wednesday, supported by data that pointed to stabilization in the labor and housing markets -- two sectors largely considered responsible for slowing down a recovery.

The fight over a U.S. government-run public insurance plan may be getting louder and noisier, but for now the program's political symbolism far exceeds its practical impact on expanding health coverage.

Better home insulation and ventilation and using electricity instead of fossil fuels could reduce indoor pollution and save thousands of lives, especially in low-income countries like India, a study has found.

China will rate the success of the Copenhagen climate summit by the actual content of any deal reached, a top negotiator said on Wednesday, in Beijing's first hint it accepts there will not be a legally binding pact.

Buyers of offsets in the global voluntary carbon market are showing increased interest in so-called exotic and U.S. credits, market players said on Wednesday.

ING won shareholder approval for the breakup of the Dutch bank and insurance group and a 7.5 billion euro ($11.18 billion) rights issue on Wednesday, paving the way for it to pay back state support.

But a wave of new ships ordered during the boom times are now coming on line and that will put pressure on rates, a boon for bargain-hunting passengers but not so much for cruise line earnings.

U.S. consumer sentiment improved slightly in November from earlier in the month, but it was weaker than October as deep anxiety lingered over personal finances, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc's demand for rock-bottom prices from suppliers in China means some of these companies are forcing their employees to work in sweatshop-like conditions, a new report said on Wednesday.

Porsche SE is headed for a second consecutive annual loss in the billions of euros as the hangover lingers from a failed takeover of Volkswagen AG.

U.S. consumer sentiment improved slightly in late November from earlier this month, but it was weaker than October on deep anxiety over personal finances, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The Thanksgiving holiday is approaching and plenty of resources for the day are available online. See below for a few funny or silly Thanksgiving jokes.

Jerry Jordan, one of the top-performing U.S. growth fund managers over the past three years, says he's sold all his holdings of Apple and Google because their stock prices had gotten too expensive.

Italian prosecutors have called for Google Inc executives to be jailed in a case related to a video of a taunted youth with Down's Syndrome posted on its Italian website, judicial sources said on Wednesday.

The Hershey Trust, the charitable trust that is the major shareholder of Hershey Co, has sought the approval of the Pennsylvania attorney general for a potential $17 billion bid for Cadbury Plc, according to the Wall Street Journal.