IBT Staff Reporter

Australian Dollar: After a quiet Asian session yesterday the Aussie dollar came to life overnight, rallying hard from 0.7950 to open this morning back above the 80 cent handle at 0.8035.

Facebook is now celebrating its new counts of active users around the world. Today, it announced that it has reach 250 million active users.

Hong Kong reported second critical H1N1 case besides 78 newly confirmed ones on Wednesday, but experts predict low impact on the economy despite people's worries.

Worldwide personal computer shipments in the second quarter took a major plunge of 3 percent, according to worldwide PC tracker on Wednesday.

Microsoft Corp will open stores close to those of Apple Inc this fall, according to its chief operating officer, as it looks to win back the initiative in the battle for Main Street PC and gadget buyers.

Space shuttle Endeavour and seven astronauts finally launched off into orbit on Wednesday on a flight to the international space station, making it its sixth attempt.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Wednesday he was hopeful a deal with lawmakers to resolve the state's budget crisis by closing a $26.3 billion shortfall was near, perhaps even by the end of the day.

After more than a month's delay, space shuttle Endeavour and seven astronauts thundered into orbit Wednesday on a flight to the international space station, hauling up a veranda for Japan's enormous lab and looking to set a crowd record.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials have modified their unemployment rate predictions as they expect the rate to top 10 percent above the previously forecast value of 9.6 percent.

CIT Group Inc , a major lender to small- and mid-sized U.S. businesses, said on Wednesday that talks with the government to bail out the company had ended, a development that could make bankruptcy likely.

Technology news website TechCrunch published on Wednesday sensitive internal documents belonging to Twitter, including financial projections, offering a rare glimpse into the wildly popular microblogging site.

Al-Qaeda's Algerian-based offshoot issued a threat Tuesday to target overseas Chinese in North Africa in retaliation for the deaths of Uygurs in Urumqi.

U.S. stocks jumped on Wednesday with the S&P 500 racking up its three best days since March, sparked by results from bellwether Intel Corp that lifted hopes for a rebound in technology spending and improved corporate profitability.

Two key components of the Obama administration's bold plan to reshape U.S. financial regulation came under attack on Wednesday, with lawmakers and lobbyists engaged in a reform debate of immense scope.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials have modified their unemployment rate predictions as they expect the rate to top 10 percent above the previously forecast value of 9.6 percent. In June the nation's unemployment rate climbed to 9.5 percent, a 26-year high. The latest projections have cast a new shadow of doubt on the timing the economy will take to recover.

The total death tally of swine flu has risen to 549 as the global number of the new flu infection cases surpassed 113,000 people, Russia's chief sanitary doctor said on Tuesday, according to the Russian leading newspaper RIA Novosti report.

Michael Jackson's memorial proved to be good for business, sparking another nostalgic frenzy for his music that continues to put the King of Pop atop music charts since his sudden death three weeks ago.

U.S. stocks racked up strong gains on Wednesday, sparked by results from bellwether Intel Corp that lifted hopes for a rebound in technology spending and improved corporate profitability.

California's attorney general said on Wednesday his office has run dozens of doctors' names, some of them thought to be aliases, through its prescription drug database to aid police investigating the death of Michael Jackson.

British boy wizard Harry Potter conjured his magic at box offices again, as the sixth film in the highly popular movie series earned a record $22.2 million at Wednesday midnight showings in the United States.

Microsoft Windows 7 pre-orders promotion is soaring high causing several stores to collapse including Microsoft EU e-store.

The U.N. Security Council neared agreement on Wednesday on North Korean firms and individuals to be added to a blacklist for involvement in Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, diplomats said.

The U.S. Department of Energy and the FutureGen Alliance moved forward to proceed with site-specific activities for the first commercial scale, fully integrated, carbon capture and sequestration project in the U.S.

The world will remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal for the rest of this century, despite the best efforts of governments to move toward renewable energy, an energy economist said on Wednesday.

Many people are confused about just how many patients have been infected with the new H1N1 flu, which in turn makes it hard to tell how bad the pandemic is, British researchers said on Tuesday.

Amazon.com Inc has been sued by a user of its Kindle electronic reader who claims the device's cover, which is sold separately, can break the screen and make the device inoperable.

Four North American geothermal companies announced plans to merge on Wednesday and raise C$100 million ($90 million) to develop key projects to produce clean power.

Authorities say they've located a woman wanted for questioning in connection with the slaying of a Florida Panhandle couple during a break-in.

The Obama administration on Wednesday will send Congress legislation demanding that hedge fund managers submit to new registration and disclosure rules to boost transparency and limit any risks they pose to the financial system, a senior U.S. Treasury official said.