IBT Staff Reporter

The dollar hit a 15-month low against a currency basket on Wednesday after Federal Reserve minutes showed policymakers saw the U.S. currency's recent decline as orderly. Traders dumped the dollar across the board, pushing it to a 10-month low against the yen, as the minutes also reinforced the view U.S. interest rates will stay essentially at zero until around mid-2010.

The U.S. economy grew more slowly than first thought in the third quarter, but a fifth month of gains in house prices in September and an improvement in consumer morale signaled the anemic recovery was intact. In its second estimate of third quarter gross domestic product published on Tuesday, the Commerce Department said the economy expanded at a 2.8 percent annual rate, probably ending the most painful U.S. recession in 70 years.

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, as the dollar fell and investors awaited data that could offer insight into how firmly a recovery is taking hold.

Tiffany & Co reported a larger-than-expected quarterly profit as the upscale jeweler contained costs and benefited from stronger sales in Asia and Europe, sending its shares up 7.5 percent.

Chipmaker Infineon has moved one step closer to supplying chips for high-end devices of Nokia by announcing a collaboration to create chips for the next mobile network generation.

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, as investors awaited a new round of economic data that may offer insight into the strength of a recovery.

World stocks rose while gold hit another record high and the dollar weakened on Wednesday after Federal Reserve minutes expressed confidence in the durability of the U.S. economic recovery.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher opening on Wall Street on Wednesday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, with investors awaiting a slew of economic data.

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised U.S. growth forecasts for 2010, while gold struck a record high on a weaker dollar and a media report India was open to buying more of the precious metal.

Microsoft Corp's Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell is to leave the company at the end of the year, indicating that he is looking for a bigger job at another company.

U.S. private equity investor JC Flowers is circling Britain's weakened banking industry, prepared to swoop on forced divestments over the next 12 months, according to the firm's new European and Asia Pacific boss.

Google is putting thousands of images of ancient artifacts at Iraq's National Museum online, the Web search leader said on Tuesday, part of a U.S. bid to entice foreign firms to invest in Iraq.

Global mobile data traffic continued to surge in October, growing at the fastest pace in seven months, Internet browser company Opera Software said on Wednesday.

Australian businesses are being urged to be more vigilant about preventing sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace during the Christmas party season when alcohol and pent-up grievances could prove a heady mix.

What strategies will Australian CEOs be pursuing in 2010? As the globalfinancial crisis recedes, a national survey of 148 Australian CEOs shows they expect to move from survival mode to sales.

During the global financial crisis workers who stayed in their jobs did not reduce their working hours, despite widespread government and commentator claims that cuts in hours had helped stem job losses during the downturn, new University of Sydney research shows.

Swift interest rate hikes aimed at containing inflation in product and asset prices could cause another downturn in the slowly recovering economies of the United States and Europe, the head of the World Bank said.

An Israeli prisoner exchange with Hamas has not yet been agreed and may not happen, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, after a senior cabinet colleague predicted a breakthrough within weeks.

Iran could consider sending its low-enriched uranium abroad, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, apparently softening its opposition to a U.N. plan aimed at keeping a check on its nuclear ambitions.

The World Bank will start a trust fund to boost agriculture in poor countries with an initial $1.5 billion, its president Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday, warning of the risk of another food price crisis.

U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday to finish the job of an unpopular and costly eight-year war in Afghanistan, and officials said he could announce an increase of around 30,000 troops next week.

President Barack Obama sought to reassure Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday of his commitment to boosting U.S. ties with India even as his administration has set its rivals, China and Pakistan, as top priorities.

J Crew Group Inc reported a quarterly net profit far above Wall Street estimates due to strong autumn sales of clothing and expanded profit margins from depressed year-ago levels.

Top U.S. booksellers Barnes & Noble Inc and Borders Group Inc will pay a price for coming late to market with electronic book readers, analysts said..

J Crew Group Inc reported a quarterly net profit far above Wall Street estimates due to strong autumn sales and expanded profit margins from depressed year-ago levels.

The government-run fund that safeguards U.S. bank deposits tumbled to a negative balance of $8.2 billion in the third quarter, as the number of problem banks surged by a third to 552.

An auction of personal art and furniture once belonging to late French fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent and French businessman Pierre Berge raised $14.45 million, three times the amount expected.

American International Group Inc , the insurer that received billions of dollars in a U.S. bailout, has been authorized by its board to pay Chief Executive Robert Benmosche's $7 million compensation, after it laid to rest concerns that he may quit the post.

U.S. central bankers, meeting in early November, said they expected consumers to continue or even boost savings in the next few quarters while anticipating an elevated unemployment rate over the next few years.