IBT Staff Reporter

The head of chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is celebrating a $1.45 billion antitrust fine by the European Union against its rival, Intel Corp.

Militants and hate groups increasingly use social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube as propaganda tools to recruit new members, according to a report by the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

EU regulators on Wednesday fined Intel Corp a record 1.06 billion euros ($1.45 billion) for antitrust violations and ordered it to halt illegal practices used to squeeze out rival AMD.

Stocks slumped on Wednesday after retail sales data came in worse than expected, hurting shares in the sector including Wal-Mart Stores Inc and blurring the economic outlook.

The European Union has imposed a fine of €1.06 billion ($1.44 billion) Wednesday on Intel Corporation for violating EU treaty antitrust rules on the abuse of a dominant market position.

Democrats at the U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee have agreed on a renewable energy standard, greenhouse gas emissions cap and allowances distribution on the climate bill, Chairman Henry Waxman said yesterday evening.

Online classified site Craigslist will replace its erotic services ads with a new adult category to bar flagrant prostitution and porn, the Connecticut attorney general's office said on Wednesday.

The CEO of AIG tried to reassure the U.S. Congress on Wednesday that the bailed-out insurer will be able to repay taxpayer aid within three to five years if the economy permits.

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that the U.S. House of Representatives is working to approve a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system by the end of July.

The chief executive of American International Group Inc told Congress on Wednesday that the bailed-out insurer will repay all its taxpayer aid in three to five years if the economy permits.

Clearwire Corp said on Wednesday that Cisco Systems Inc would build devices for customers of a high-speed wireless network Clearwire is building based on emerging WiMax technology.

Big emerging countries like China, India, Brazil and South Africa must do more to open their markets to secure a new global trade deal, the U.S. trade chief said on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks retreated on Wednesday after key U.S. retail sales data came in worse than expected, dampening hopes of a quick economic recovery.

Apple Inc investors may want to circle June 8 on their calendars.

Europe has squandered the opportunity created by the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago for a new era of cooperation between East and West, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said on Wednesday.

Frontier Communications Inc has agreed to buy 4.8 million access lines from Verizon Communications Inc for $5.25 billion in stock, in a deal that triples its size and makes it the largest U.S. communications provider serving rural areas.

IBM Chief Executive Sam Palmisano reiterated his outlook for 2010 earnings, saying the company's focus on high-margin software and its geographic diversity would help buffer the impact of a slower economy.

Sales at U.S. retailers fell for a second straight month in April, pulled down by sluggish gasoline and electronic goods purchases, government data showed on Wednesday.

The ruling Congress-led coalition was slightly ahead of the opposition Hindu-nationalist alliance in India's general election, but both groups fell short of a parliamentary majority, early projections said on Wednesday.

The U.S. financial system has completed a big part of the painful adjustment away from its excessively leveraged state, and lending is starting to improve, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.

The United States now has 3,009 confirmed cases of the new H1N1 influenza across 45 states and Washington, D.C., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday.

IBM is releasing the availability of Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.1 Software with iPhone support. The beta release of Lotus Notes wit Domino software will give capabilities for e-mail and calendaring tools to the Apple iPhone as well as supporting Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync.

Pope Benedict witnessed the watchtowers and high walls that seal Bethlehem off from Jerusalem on Wednesday as he entered the Israeli-occupied West Bank and pressed his call for a Palestinian state.

Sales at U.S. retailers fell for a second straight month in April as cash-strapped consumers held back on some purchases, according to a government report on Wednesday that dented hopes the economy was beginning to improve.

The U.S. financial system has completed a big part of the painful adjustment away from its excessively leveraged state, and lending is starting to improve, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.

Stocks fell on Wednesday after key U.S. retail sales data came in worse than expected, dampening hopes of a quick economic recovery.

A former student leader of China's 1989 pro-democracy movement has been arrested on fraud charges, his family said on Wednesday, weeks before the 20th anniversary of the June 4 crackdown on Tiananmen Square protests.

Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor pulled from the U.S. political periphery onto the 2008 Republican presidential ticket, has signed a deal to write her memoirs with HarperCollins.

MGM Mirage said on Wednesday that it had amended its senior credit facility, allowing the casino operator to offer up to $2.5 billion in stock and debt, and its shares fell 15 percent.