IBT Staff Reporter

GMAC Inc on Wednesday launched a new government-backed bond sale ahead of a regulatory deadline next month that will test the company's capital levels and ability to absorb losses.

Sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly tumbled in September, their first drop in six months, underscoring the hazards to an economic recovery even as businesses appeared to be stepping up investment.

Haunted vaults, voodoo witches and suicidal forests are enough to make even the most fearless travelers reconsider their trip. Put them together and you have got yourself one heck of a fright night.

The U.S. Senate's top Democrat and top Republican each voiced support on Wednesday for extending a soon-to-expire $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers, but left unclear when the chamber would act.

Hotels can offer some of the best views in the world and when it comes to accommodation with altitude, more and more hotel developers are striving to scale new heights. From skyscrapers with

U.S. stocks fell further on Wednesday and the S&P 500 briefly fell 2 percent, after disappointing new home sales data sparked worries about the strength of the economic recovery, prompting a sell-off.

The holiday season is crunch time for video game publishers, who are pinning their hopes on a slew of big releases to make up for lackluster sales this year.

Yahoo Inc said it has fixed various shortcomings that have plagued the Internet company in recent years and touted its large online audience and ties to advertisers as keys to its comeback.

Microsoft Corp is viewed as the most likely buyer or partner for IAC/InterActiveCorp's Ask.com if CEO Barry Diller decides to throw in the towel on the struggling search engine.

The Swiss government is looking to change the law on assisted suicide to make sure it is only used as a last resort by the terminally ill, and to limit so-called death tourism, it said on Wednesday.

Arab states could face political and social instability if they underinvest in the education of their young, expanding populations, a regional education report said on Wednesday.

China has told the United States that it plans to formally launch an investigation that could lead to new import duties on autos and sports utility vehicles made by Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, a U.S. industry official said on Wednesday.

Somali pirates holding two Britons captive aboard a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation warned Britain not to try to rescue the couple.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen hopes to secure Russian help in equipping and training Afghan security forces during a visit to Moscow in December, an alliance spokesman said on Wednesday.

Some of the nation's largest companies pushed back against U.S. Democrats' plans to deliver a government-run insurance option in a healthcare overhaul, decrying it as a step backward that would drive up costs for employers and their workers.

Some of the nation's largest companies pushed back against U.S. Democrats' plans to deliver a government-run insurance option in a healthcare overhaul, decrying it as a step backward that would drive up costs for employers and their workers.

U.S. stocks hit session lows on Wednesday and the Dow industrials briefly fell 1 percent after disappointing new home sales data sparked worries about the economic recovery.

A bill that would give the Obama administration power to impose sanctions on a broad array of companies involved in providing Iran with gasoline cleared a key congressional committee on Wednesday.

Miley Cyrus, one of Disney's hottest stars of the past three years with hit records and hit films, has been voted the worst celebrity influence of 2009 by the very people who made her a star, tweens and teens, according to an online poll on Wednesday.

A popular $8,000 tax credit for first-time U.S. homebuyers, which has helped lift the housing market out of its worst slump since the Great Depression, is set to expire on November 30.

At the lowest point in his life, former Australian army engineer Donny Paterson broke into a clinic to steal drugs to feed his morphine addiction, but 2004's devastating Indian Ocean tsunami saved him from himself.

Australian director Baz Luhrmann's outback epic Australia was passed over on Wednesday for the top film awards in his home country, presented by the Australian Film Institute.

The Obama administration's pay czar said on Wednesday that renegotiating guaranteed bonus contracts at American International Group's AIG Financial Products unit was a top priority for him in 2010.

Patrick Swayze's widow, Lisa Niemi, will talk about loving -- and losing -- her Hollywood star husband in an interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey due to be aired on Friday.

A former client of UBS AG who cooperated in a U.S. probe of the Swiss bank's ties with wealthy Americans hiding money overseas was sentenced to one year house arrest and a fine on Wednesday for a multimillion-dollar tax evasion scheme.

Renegotiating bonuses to American International Group employees is a top priority, the Obama administration's pay czar said on Wednesday, adding he believes he can do so without losing key employees.

Renegotiating bonuses to American International Group employees is a top priority, the Obama administration's pay czar said on Wednesday, adding he believes he can do so without losing key employees.

After weeks of buzz, Verizon Wireless today officially took the wraps off the Droid, a smartphone built by Motorola and powered by Google's Android 2.0 operating system, by confirming the new phone will hit stores on November 6.

The benchmark S&P 500 index fell for a fourth straight day on Wednesday after disappointing housing data and a lower forecast for third-quarter U.S. growth by Goldman Sachs.