IBT Staff Reporter

More U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the economy, but poor demand remains a top concern, according to a survey.

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.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc and PepsiAmericas Inc sold fewer soft drinks in the United States than analysts anticipated, signaling that consumers remain cautious about spending and pushing shares of both bottlers down.

Calpers, the nation's largest public pension fund, does not face moral hazard despite state guarantees of pension solvency, the funds chief investment officer said on CNBC on Wednesday, in comments responding to a Reuters report.

Industrial Minerals Canada, a junior graphite company, said on Wednesday it aims to list on the Toronto Venture Exchange via the takeover of capital pool company Rattlesnake Ventures, and rename itself Northern Graphite Corp.

Malaysia's biggest mobile operator Maxis has secured four cornerstone investors who will buy 28 percent of its roughly $3.7 billion initial public offering, Southeast Asia's largest in over a decade.

Vitamin Shoppe Inc priced shares in its initial public offering above expectations and became the first retailer in two years to go public, while home health care provider Addus Home Care Corp's IPO priced below estimates but was increased in size.

Google has publicly dished on its new turn-by-direction service, Google Navigation, which will be available on Android 2.0 mobile devices.

Insider traders may have taken the greed-is-good mantra to heart, but it's not the only thing that motivates them.

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.

ConocoPhillips reported a 71 percent decline in third-quarter profit on Wednesday as weak demand for fuel hurt its refining business and oil prices fell from a year earlier, but the results exceeded Wall Street estimates.

Monex Group Inc, Japan's No. 3 online broker, will buy the securities unit of Orix Corp for about $246 million in stock, in a deal that will create the country's second-largest online broker.

Centrica Plc, owner of the British Gas brand, will sell a 50 percent stake in three wind farms to U.S. based TCW, signalling renewed investment interest in an industry where recession has crimped financing.

ConocoPhillips reported on Wednesday a 71 percent decline in its quarterly profit as weak demand for fuel hurt its refining business and oil prices fell from a year-ago.

U.S. merger advisory boutique Evercore Partners Inc reported a quarterly profit above analysts average estimate, helped by strong revenue from its advisory business, and increased its quarterly dividend by 25 percent.

General Dynamics Corp reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as strength in defense sales helped offset weakness in business jets.

U.S. stocks slipped on Wednesday as investors fretted about a lack of catalysts that would extend the current seven-month rally, especially after disappointing September new home sales data.

Private equity firm Blackstone Group is talking to lenders about cutting up to $5 billion of debt held by its Hilton Hotels chain, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

ConocoPhillips reported a 71 percent decline in third-quarter profit on Wednesday as weak demand for fuel hurt its refining business and oil prices fell from a year earlier, but the results exceeded Wall Street estimates.

Google Inc is adding Garmin Ltd and TomTom to its growing list of rivals as the Internet search giant weaves technology for driving directions into new versions of its smartphone software.

Big energy and engineering companies will reap most profit from a climate deal due in December, as they use their financial and intellectual clout to grab low carbon subsidies

Building materials maker Owens Corning posted a quarterly profit that beat analysts' expectations, helped by lower costs, sending its shares up as much as 6 percent.

Japan's Sanyo Electric Co plans to sell part of its battery operations to satisfy antitrust regulators ahead of its planned takeover by Panasonic Corp, a source close to the matter said.

With President Barack Obama due to visit China next month, speculation is swirling Walt Disney Co may finally be about to announce a long-awaited deal to build a theme park in Shanghai.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for lasting dialogue with China's military after years of on-again, off-again talks as he welcomed a top Chinese general to the Pentagon on Tuesday.

Nomura Holdings Inc is sub-scale in the United States and would consider acquisitions to catch up with rivals, one of the architects of its Lehman deal last year said on Wednesday.

The European Union has approved Novartis AG's Ilaris to treat children and adults with a rare but potentially fatal inflammatory disease, the Swiss drugmaker said on Wednesday. Novartis said in a statement the accelerated EU decision follows approvals in the United States and Switzerland.

Iran's envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency will present Tehran's position on a draft nuclear fuel deal in Vienna on Thursday, a semi-official Iranian news agency reported on Wednesday.

Corrects paragraph 3 to show output figures are year-to-date, not quarterly; deletes reference to prior quarter