IBT Staff Reporter

Corrects job title and spelling of Rightscale executive's name in 12th paragraph

Bank of America Corp's chief executive and top federal officials will be asked by a Congressional panel to testify about claims that the bank was pressured by the government to complete its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the investigation.

Regulators are ordering some of the largest U.S. banks to find tens of billions of dollars of capital to cushion themselves in the event of a deep economic downturn.

Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer said he sees opportunities to work with Yahoo Inc to create a better search product but would not comment on discussions that the two may be engaged in.

The Boston Globe's biggest union reached a tentative accord on Wednesday with owner New York Times Co to secure the money-losing newspaper's survival after a month of intense negotiations.

The U.S. government could provide tax breaks for newspapers or allow them to operate as nonprofits to help the struggling business survive, Sen. John Kerry said Wednesday.

Legislation aimed at reversing a 3-year-old ban on Americans placing online bets was introduced on Wednesday by U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank.

Cisco Systems Inc posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results and Chief Executive John Chambers said his customers were seeing more stability, adding to hopes that business conditions would soon recover.

The International Monetary Fund has corrected an outstanding error for some eastern European countries because of wrong data.

Afghanistan's only known pig has been locked in a room, away from visitors to Kabul zoo where it normally grazes beside deer and goats, because people are worried it could infect them with the virus popularly known as swine flu.

President Barack Obama's Defense Department plans to create 20,000 new government jobs to help revise how it buys more than $100 billion of weapons each year, the Pentagon's No. 2 official told Congress.

President Barack Obama, facing criticism from Republicans as well as fellow Democrats over huge budget deficits, will propose on Thursday shaving $17 billion from a 2010 budget that will still hover around $3.5 trillion, an administration official said on Wednesday.

News Corp posted a 47 percent drop in operating income on Wednesday as advertising revenue declined, but Chairman Rupert Murdoch said the worst effects of the recession are behind the media company.

Oil prices rose to five month highs above $56 a barrel on Wednesday as a surprise drop in U.S. gasoline inventories and a slowdown in private sector job losses in April boosted hopes for a turnaround in the economy.

Haitian officials rejected a Mexican ship carrying mostly needed food aids due to swine flu fears. The news came Wednesday as Mexico ended a five-day shutdown designed to contain the virus.

The volume of retail trade in March of the European Union’s 27 nation bloc (EU27) fell by 0.3% and the euro area (EA16) down by 0.6%. In February of this year, retail trade fell by 0.8% and 0.3% respectively, according to the European statistics.

Bankrupt Chrysler has a clear path to an alliance with Italy's Fiat SpA, the U.S. company's chief executive said while rival Ford Motor Co reported on Wednesday it has sufficient liquidity and its restructuring remains on track, boosting its shares.

General Motors Corp is expected to report a deep loss on Thursday for the first quarter in its last earnings report before the deadline for a restructuring that would wipe out current shareholders.

Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc posted a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit due to cost cuts that helped offset lower revenue as companies reduced technology spending.

Dissident Chrysler lenders were identified on Wednesday in bankruptcy court, while Ford Motor Co said its restructuring remained on track and announced plans to convert an SUV plant to small-car production, pushing its shares higher.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp posted a 47 percent drop in operating income on Wednesday because of falling advertising revenue at its television stations, newspapers and other businesses.

Wells Fargo & Co on Wednesday said it is freezing its cash-balance pension plan for all employees, and has issued layoff notices to 548 workers in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, the former home of Wachovia Corp.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc merged its microprocessor and graphics chip businesses on Wednesday, its latest effort to adjust its structure and claw back market share lost to larger rival Intel Corp.

U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday will likely show the pace of lay-offs eased in April, potentially adding fuel to a two-month stock market rally even though the jobless rate looks set to hit a 25-year high.

Cisco Systems Inc posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results and Chief Executive John Chambers said some customers were seeing stabilization for the first time in many quarters.

President Barack Obama warned on Wednesday of more violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but said his government was still committed to defeating al Qaeda, while trying to avoid civilian deaths on those countries.

Channel, a dachshund mix, is going to be celebrating her 21st birthday which is equal to 120 years in human years according to her veterinarian.

The U.S. Department of Energy declared it will allocate funds for cutting-edge nuclear energy research and development projects to advance the agency’s effort fight climate change and produce U.S.-based energy sources.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after a private-sector reading on the labor market signaled unemployment may be receding and leaked bank stress test results suggested most banks are healthier than previously thought.