IBT Staff Reporter

AT&T Inc yielded on Wednesday to customer complaints and agreed to extend its best upgrade price to previous iPhone buyers eager to get their hands on Apple Inc's new model, which goes on sale Friday.

Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, the black horse that emerged earlier this month as a bidder to acquire the Hummer brand from bankrupt GM is being charged for defaulting on construction cost of RMB 470,000, a local news paper reported this week.

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.

(Corrects unofficial close to remove 22 and read several in reference to S&P's debt downgrades of banks)

U.S. Senator John Ensign resigned from a party leadership post on Wednesday a day after admitting an extramarital affair with then campaign treasurer, Cynthia Hampton.

A U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday approved a comprehensive energy package that would require utilities to generate 15 percent of electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind power by 2021.

At a time when the press is filled with sometimes confusing economic news, one can use some simple economic concepts in understanding the economic outlook.

A Chinese girl who stabbed a local official to death has been released free on Tuesday but judged guilty of excessive force.

The Department of Commerce reports that housing starts for privately owned structures increased by 17% in May on a seasonally adjusted basis.The 17% increase well exceeded economist expectation of a 4.8% increase.

Many women taking the crowded train in Tokyo opt for women-only carriages during the rush hour to avoid gropers.

A company in Germany is installing vending machines that dispense gold bars and coins, instead of the usual snacks and candy bars, in the nation’s airports and railway stations.

Apple Inc released 45 software patches on Wednesday to address rare security vulnerabilities in its popular iPhone and iPod Touch mobile devices.

Apple's iPhone 3.0 software is now available today and here's the steps on how end-users can update their iPhone's to get working with the new operating system.

Hands up who knew there was a LG National Texting Championship in the U.S?

Apple officially announced the availability of iPhone 3.0 software last week, but the exact time has been kept in secret.

Oil rose on Wednesday, supported by government data showing a drop in U.S. crude supplies, gains in the stock market and a weaker dollar.

BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) called for a more diversified global monetary system, but apparently failed to reach consensus Tuesday on reducing the dominance of the U.S. dollar.

Iran's defeated presidential candidate, Mir-Hossein Mousavi called for re-election on Wednesday in Tehran.

The H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, continued to ravage Hong Kong as 54 new cases were reported on Wednesday, up an astonishing 46% over a 24-hour period.

Stocks climbed on Wednesday, led by technology and biotech stocks, while declining financial shares reined in the Dow's and S&P's gains after a broad debt ratings downgrade on banks.

Sirius XM Radio subscribers will be able to download software on June 18 that lets the satellite radio service's programing play on Apple Inc's iPhone.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after a U.S. government report showed a surprise increase in gasoline supplies in the world's top consumer heading into summer driving season.

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Wednesday that it would buy privately held Arrow Group for $1.75 billion, clinching a long-expected deal by the U.S. generic drugmaker to expand internationally.

Russia hopes U.S. President Barack Obama will not pursue his predecessor's plan to deploy weapons in space but Moscow is ready to respond appropriately to any such moves, a senior Russian general said on Wednesday.

U.S. Bancorp and BB&T Corp repaid billions of dollars in government bailout funds on Wednesday, the first of the large banks to do so, ahead of eight others given permission to return the money.

The Nasdaq rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday as investors snapped up technology shares after a two-day sell-off, while both the Dow and the S&P 500 clung to modest gains as healthcare shares advanced.

Oil prices fell below $70 a barrel on Wednesday, after a U.S. government report showed a surprise increase in gasoline supplies in the world's top consumer heading into summer driving season.

U.S. Bancorp on Wednesday said it is repaying $6.6 billion in government bailout funds, becoming the first large bank to do so, ahead of nine others given permission to return the money.

Package delivery giant and U.S. economic bellwether FedEx Corp said the next two quarters will be extremely difficult as the recession and higher fuel prices bite into its bottom line, but said the pace of economic decline appears to be slowing.