IBT Staff Reporter

Gold set record highs for a second straight session on Wednesday as investors bought the precious metal due to fears the dollar may weaken further, bringing inflation.

Energy prices are volatile. They change as market participants adjust their expectations to new information from physical energy markets and markets for energy-related financial derivatives. Futures and options markets are a valuable source of information regarding these changing expectations.

If you've got it, flaunt it and sell it: that was the message at Paris fashion week as collections teemed with lacy stockings, bra straps and exposed knickers.

It would be a big mistake for the Congress to approve an energy bill this year without placing a cap on greenhouse emissions, the White House's top climate and energy adviser said on Wednesday.

Two very different movies are showing an ugly, violent side of Brazil that many would rather forget as the country prepares to host both the World Cup and the Olympics within the next seven years.

Business software company Compuware Corp said it agreed to acquire privately held Gomez Inc for $295 million to offer unified application performance management services, amid consolidation in the technology space.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes were little changed on Wednesday following two days of strong gains, as the first wave of quarterly earnings reports trickled into the market.

Overweight or underweight children who are seen in the emergency department are more likely to be admitted to the hospital, and to stay longer, than normal-weight youngsters, according to a study

Microsoft has improved its offer to give users in Europe the chance to choose other Web browsers, EU antitrust regulators said on Wednesday and asked rivals to comment on the proposal.

Two new stocks debuted on Wednesday with opposing performances, as Banco Santander's Brazilian unit started with a whimper, while insurance risk specialist Verisk Analytics Inc kicked off with a bang.

Shoemaker Wolverine World Wide Inc posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by cost cuts, and raised its profit outlook for the full year, sending it shares up as much as 5 percent.

Personal-care products maker Helen of Troy Ltd posted a quarterly profit that handily beat market expectations, boosted by sales from its hair-care business acquisitions, lifting its shares as much as 13 percent.

Smokers who are trying to kick the habit may be able to turn to their cell phones to avoid temptation, a study published Tuesday suggests.

Julius Baer's purchase of ING's Swiss private banking assets marks the start of a consolidation wave in the wealth management industry, insiders told the Reuters Global Wealth Management summit.

News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch has held talks with Japanese and South Korean firms, possibly sounding out potential partners to rival Amazon.com Inc's Kindle electronic reader, sources said on Wednesday.

Three scientists who produced atom-by-atom maps of the mysterious, life-giving ribosome won the Nobel chemistry prize on Wednesday for a breakthrough that has allowed researchers to develop powerful new antibiotics.

Bond fund manager Pacific Investment Management Co left a CIT bondholder steering committee in late September, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

A terrorist suspect at the center of an Italian trial over secret CIA rendition flights is seeking $10 million in compensation, saying he was tortured during interrogation in Egypt, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Salesforce.com Chief Executive Marc Benioff will make a high-profile speech at a conference held by arch rival Oracle Corp, giving him a rare chance to hawk his goods in hostile territory.

Congress' chief architect on financial regulation said on Wednesday companies that use derivatives to hedge their risk would not be forced to comply with all the new rules for the $450 trillion private swaps market.

Changes to a settlement that would allow Google Inc to put million of books online should be presented in court by Nov. 9, the judge presiding over the case said on Wednesday.

The two top Democrats in the U.S. Congress plan to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House on Wednesday to explore ways to stimulate the ailing U.S. economy, party aides said.

Italy's top court ruled on Wednesday that a law granting Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution violates the constitution, in a verdict that could reopen trials against him and undermine his government.

Anheuser-Busch InBev said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell its U.S. theme parks to private equity group Blackstone for up to $2.7 billion, shedding a non-core business to help pay for its merger.

U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips on Wednesday cut its capital budget for 2010 and said it planned to divest $10 billion in assets in a bid to improve its financial position.

Apple has selected Foxconn to build the company's anticipated tablet PC, DigiTimes reported on Wednesday, citing market sources. The report says the device will hit the market in Q1 2010, with initial shipments of 300,000-400,000 units.

BMW (BMWG.DE) posted its first year-on-year volume gain this year in September and forecast this would become a trend during the rest of 2009 thanks to new model launches and barring any unforeseeable shocks.

The Federal Reserve told bank examiners last month that banks were slow to take losses on their commercial real estate loans that have suffered as property values sink.

The Dow was lower while the S&P and Nasdaq were flat on Wednesday, following two days of strong gains, as the first batch of quarterly earnings reports trickled into the market.