IBT Staff Reporter

Sallie Mae, the largest U.S. student loan provider, forecast higher earnings in 2010, boosted by lower loan loss provisions and more stable credit markets, sending its shares up as much as 22.5 percent.

The top executives of General Electric and Comcast Corp, which sources say are negotiating a multi-billion dollar sale of NBC Universal, said they were keeping their options open but offered few hints of whether a deal may soon emerge.

Pakistani helicopter gunships attacked Taliban bases near the Afghan border on Wednesday as the army urged NATO forces to seal the frontier to stem cross-border movement of militants.

Global efforts to immunize children against life-threatening diseases set a record high last year but failed to protect millions of youngsters in the world's poorest countries, health officials said on Wednesday.

General Motors Co has not subscribed to the $424 million rights issue of its South Korean unit by a Wednesday deadline, according to a report, but its overseas units are now expected to take up the offer.

China's army will recruit 130,000 graduates from Chinese universities and colleges this winter to raise the quality of the armed forces and help solve the job crisis facing graduates.

Yahoo Inc beat Wall Street's profit and sales expectations as spending by advertisers showed signs of life in the third quarter and as months of cost-cutting and restructuring boosted the Internet company's bottom line.

The Obama administration was deeply divided over whether to fund Chrysler's restructuring in bankruptcy and whether the automaker could survive to repay the investment, according to a former senior official.

Goldman Sachs upgraded Caterpillar Inc the stock to neutral from sell and bumped up its price target by $16 to $64, citing improved cost control by the company and a stronger outlook for construction equipment demand.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief on Wednesday presented a draft deal to Iran and three big powers for approval by their capitals by Friday to allay fears Tehran might use an enriched-uranium stockpile to make nuclear weapons.

Washington real estate web site Incolo.com tells investors how to overlook bank-owned properties that have cosmetic flaws. Doing so can mean big savings. By being willing to invest a small amount up-front, buyers can save as much as 20% on a home purchase.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates pressed Japan on Wednesday to implement quickly a deal to reorganize the U.S. military presence in the country, an issue that could test ties with Tokyo's new government.

President Barack Obama chastised Wall Street firms on Tuesday for resisting tighter regulations of their industry and said they had not done enough to boost lending to small businesses.

Half of the most senior Afghan district election officials will be fired, U.N. officials said on Wednesday, to prevent more fraud in a run-off presidential poll crucial to the country's credibility and foreign support.

Morgan Stanley downgraded Devon Energy Corp to equal-weight from overweight, and said the U.S. exploration and production company would be hurt if there was a lag in the recovery of natural gas prices.

European environment ministers agreed a proposal on Wednesday to curb global emissions from planes and ships by 10 percent and 20 percent respectively over the next decade, two EU diplomats said.

Stocks rose on Wednesday, led by bank shares, after solid quarterly earnings from Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

The European Union is taking too long to get up to 12 carbon capture and storage demonstration plants operating by 2015, RWE npower's head of environmental strategy told a carbon conference on Wednesday.

A performance by British pop star Robbie Williams, broadcast to more than 250 theatres around the world, set a world record on Tuesday by having the largest number of screenings of a live concert in theaters.

Film director Roman Polanski, now in Swiss detention, may decide to face justice in the United States, where he is wanted on a 1977 sex charge, to avoid lengthy extradition procedures, one of his lawyers said on Wednesday.

Oil eased to below $79 a barrel on Wednesday, extending the previous session's decline from a one-year peak after a bigger-than-expected rise in U.S. crude oil inventories.

R&B singer Chris Brown announced a month long fan appreciation tour on Tuesday -- the same day that ex-girlfriend Rihanna released a new single seen by some as evoking their stormy relationship.

Vic Mizzy, the American film and television composer who wrote the theme song to The Addams Family, has died at the age of 93, with his death announced on his website.

The director behind American Pie and About a Boy wasn't the obvious choice to take on The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the second book in Stephenie Meyer's blockbuster teen vampire romance series. But Chris Weitz, who also writes and produces, sometimes with his brother Paul, had done a fantasy adaptation in 2007's The Golden Compass and felt a connection to the material. On November 20, Twil...

Pop singer Rihanna on Tuesday released her first new single, Russian Roulette, since being assaulted by former boyfriend and singer Chris Brown in February on the eve of the music industry's Grammy awards.

Boeing Co on Wednesday posted a larger-than-expected quarterly loss on a cost reclassification related to its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner program, sending shares lower.

Continental Airlines Inc posted a quarterly profit before one-time charges on Wednesday, beating analysts' expectations of a loss, as it benefited from reduced capacity and a drop in costs.

The Founding of a Republic has become the highest-grossing Chinese film in China's box-office history, earning 406 million yuan ($58.4 million) since its September 16 debut, a China Film Group spokesperson told the Xinhua News Agency.

Choreographer and Hairspray director Adam Shankman will produce the 82nd Academy Awards live telecast in March with movie executive Bill Mechanic, organizers said on Tuesday.