IBT Staff Reporter

Amid complaints by smaller competitors that exclusive agreements by dominant wireless phone companies and handset makers hurt competition, AT&T said on Wednesday that competition in the industry is robust and it will increase over time.

Nvidia Corporation was raised to a BUY from HOLD rating as higher revenue is expected in its future, according Wedbush Morgan research during its analyst day.

The controversial software to filter pornography and other unsuitable websites may face another yet another hurdle. The developers of the Chinese filtering software ‘Green Dam’ may face legal charges from the California-based Solid Oak, makers similar filtering software.

China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday announced that the discrepancy between industrial output and power generation growth in May was due to industrial restructuring and the use of energy-efficient products.

Chrysler Group LLC said on Wednesday it will resume production of vehicles in seven North American assembly plants by the end of the month, the first large-scale resumption of production since the Fiat SpA led company acquired Chrysler assets earlier in June.

E*Trade Financial Corp., looking to boost its bank’s capital, announced Wednesday a common stock offering worth $400 million.

V-Vehicle Company, a startup automaker announced it will move into a former General Motors plant in Monroe Lousiana to build environmentally friendly vehicles, state and company officials announced today, according to the Associated Press.

Intel Corp plans to phase out some of its brands, including the Centrino for computers, to focus on fewer top names as the chip maker expands into new markets such as mobile devices.

Option traders will soon be able to speculate or hedge their risk in the shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc , the insurance and investment conglomerate run by billionaire Warren Buffett.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), comprising Russia, China and four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics--Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan-- held their own summit Tuesday in the Russian Ural city of Yekaterinburg.

Defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi has called on supporters to stage peaceful demonstrations or gather in mosques on Thursday to express solidarity with people killed in post-election unrest.

Several iPhone users are reporting problems with the activation server when downloading the latest iPhone OS 3.0.

The first summit of BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) ended on Tuesday in Yekaterinburg with robust consensus on more joint efforts to revive the world economy.

Specialty retailer Eddie Bauer filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, but says it will continue to serve customers as it seeks court permission to sell its assets to a private equity group.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. on Wednesday said its 4GB chip based on 50-nm class DRAM production technology has borne the world’s first 32GB DDR3 Memory for low-power server operations.

The Lakers - a franchise valued at $584 million by Forbes - celebrated the team's 15th NBA championship parade on Wednesday marching in double decker buses from the Staples Center to the Coliseum in Los Angeles.

U.S. retail chain, Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. filed Wednesday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and entered into a deal worth $202 million with a private equity firm to buy the company’s assets.

NEW YORK, June 17 Reuters) - Ten of the largest U.S. banks said on Wednesday they repaid more than $68 billion of taxpayer bailout funds, as they race to extract themselves from government restrictions on pay for top executives.

(Corrects number of banks in first bullet point, corrects index closing level in third bullet point, updates total repayment figure to $68 bln in bullet point and paragraph 1)

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that today’s antiquated U.S. financial system puts “American dreams” in “consistent danger,” as he announced his proposals to change the laws which govern how financial companies are run.

Microsoft Corp was off to a good start with its revamped search engine Bing that was launched a few weeks earlier, Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said on Wednesday.

Technology shares buoyed the Nasdaq on Wednesday after positive broker comments on Qualcomm, but financial shares' losses held back the Dow and the S&P 500.

Autopsies made of victims of the Air France Flight 447 revealed fractures in the legs, arms and hips, Brazil's O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported on Wednesday, strengthening speculation that the airplane broke apart at high altitudes.

U.S. consumer prices rose slightly in May, but over the past 12 months prices registered the biggest drop in nearly 60 years, allaying fears that inflation could threaten prospects for economic recovery.

(Corrects comment initially sent at 11:58 a.m. to change number of banks downgraded by S&P to 18 in second bullet and lead paragraph)

U.S. stocks were mixed on Wednesday, weighted by a downgrade of 18 banks by Standard and Poor's and a disappointing earnings outlook from economic bellwether FedEx Corp .

Utility companies UniStar Nuclear Energy LLC, NRG Energy Inc., Scana Corp and Southern Co., are likely to be the government's picks for building the next generation of nuclear reactors in the U.S., according to a report from the Wall Street Journal citing interviews to government and energy companies officials as well as reactor vendors.

The China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country's top wealth fund, is reported to have confirmed on Wednesday it would lend 200 million Australian dollars ($159 million) to Australia's leading property trust Goodman Group.

President Barack Obama laid out his vision for recrafting U.S. financial regulation on Wednesday, vowing to halt a cascade of mistakes ... over the course of decades that eroded bank and market oversight.