IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. mortgage applications fell last week despite the lowest loan rates in four months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday, in another sign that housing will likely recover slowly from its three-year plunge.

The U.S. economy contracted at slower pace than previously thought in the second quarter, but a further decline in private payrolls in September was another indication that recovery from recession would be patchy.

U.S. private employers cut a larger-than-expected 254,000 jobs in September, though this was less than a revised 277,000 jobs lost in August, a report by a private employment service said on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama's drive to tackle global warming gets a boost on Wednesday, when Democrats in the Senate are expected to unveil a bill aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the next four decades.

Commercial airlines would have to fly new planes that emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions under a U.S. Senate climate change bill that is set to be introduced on Wednesday.

Oil rose above $67 per barrel on Wednesday, buoyed by a fall in the dollar and higher share prices, but gains were limited by an expected increases in U.S. oil inventories.

NRG Energy Inc planned to restart the 836-megawatt Unit 1 at the Limestone coal-fired power station in Texas on Sept. 30-Oct. 1, the company told Texas regulators in a report.

Wall Street was set for a higher open on Wednesday as data showing the U.S. economy contracted at a slower-than-expected pace and robust factory activity from Asia gave investors more confidence about the economic recovery.

Trina Solar Ltd said on Wednesday it had extended by five years its contract to buy polysilicon from GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd through 2021

Exelon Corp's 1,043-megawatt Clinton nuclear power station in Illinois shut by early Wednesday from 96 percent early Tuesday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report. Clinton, which entered service in 1987, is located in Clinton in DeWitt County about 160 miles southwest of Chicago.

Last Quarter of Recession; Savers and Retailers; Casino IPO Pressure

The new Broadway drama A Steady Rain, starring Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, has set the record for the highest weekly ticket sales of a non-musical play, its producers said on Tuesday.

All aboard! Thomas the Tank Engine is heading back out on the tracks.

Beauty queen Miss Singapore World has given up her crown after it emerged that she had stolen credit cards to go on a shopping spree for lingerie.

Attorneys for Michael Jackson sued two California charities on Tuesday, accusing them of scamming the dead singer's fans by using his name and catchphrases to solicit funds.

A United Nations progress report on AIDS on Wednesday showed that despite some progress, the goal of universal access to treatment for all those who need it is still a long way off.

Women who are obese in middle age may live to be at least 70 but they are nowhere near as healthy as women who kept in good shape, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

Bank of America Corp has struck a deal to sell a long-term asset management business, part of its Columbia Management division, to Ameriprise Financial Inc for about $1 billion.

The Canadian province of Ontario said on Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit seeking C$50 billion ($45.9 billion) in damages from tobacco companies for healthcare costs incurred by taxpayers since 1955.

It's not just lower credit limits and the difficulty of getting a credit card that's striking fear into the hearts of retailers desperate for holiday sales -- it's consumers' new desire to save.

Fifty-nine percent of U.S. mental health drug prescriptions are written by family doctors, not psychiatrists, raising concerns about the quality of some treatments, according to a study released on Wednesday.

Most Americans would pay higher taxes to fund healthcare reforms that provide the best quality of care, but only a minority expects Washington to deliver it, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Australia rolled out a nationwide vaccination drive for H1N1influenza on Wednesday in a bid to arm itself against a possible outbreak of the disease.

A Senate panel on Tuesday rejected a government-run public insurance option as part of a broad healthcare overhaul, handing insurers an early victory and setting the stage for a long fight over one of the bill's most contentious issues.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday after robust factory data from Asia and better-than-expected results from Nike encouraged investors as the quarter comes to a close.

More than half of the 9.5 million people who need AIDS drugs cannot get them and 33 million people across the world are still infected with the virus that causes it, a United Nations report said on Wednesday.

Stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday, the final day of the quarter, with investors awaiting data on employment and gross domestic product .

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday, the final day of the quarter, with investors awaiting data on employment and gross domestic product .

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday lowered its estimate for global write-downs for banks and other financial institutions to roughly $3.4 trillion but warned that loan losses could rise in the face of stubbornly high unemployment and associated delinquencies.