IBT Staff Reporter

Internet search firm Google Inc took its widest-ever lead in the U.S. search market in March, according to new figures released on Wednesday by comScore.

Latin American leaders and executives urged governments in the region on Wednesday to stop erecting trade barriers, saying the financial crisis was a chance to tackle problems that have long hindered the region's competitiveness.

Drafts of Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert's classic tale of adultery and thwarted dreams, are being shown online for the first time thanks to a mass effort to transcribe the originals.

The central Italy region ravaged by an earthquake more than a week ago will need at least $16 billion for rebuilding, the country's interior minister said.

U.S. consumer prices fell in March, posting their first 12-month drop in nearly 54 years, and industrial production slipped further, according to data on Wednesday that underscored the severity of the recession.

The Treasury Department on Wednesday declined to name China a currency manipulator, backing down from tough talk last year when Barack Obama, then campaigning for president, said Beijing was keeping its currency unfairly low.

Stocks rose on Wednesday amid numerous signs the recession could be abating and data from American Express signaled the ability of some consumers to pay their bills is stabilizing.

Goldman Sachs said it expects bottlers Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc and Pepsi Bottling Group Inc to benefit from accelerated soda sales, new distribution agreements and a possible fall in commodity prices.

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc said on Wednesday it would stop controversial targeted advertising company Phorm from using its Web pages to gather data on Internet users.

Microsoft Corp confirmed on Wednesday a report that it had received a one-week extension from EU antitrust regulators to respond to charges that it had sought to thwart rivals by bundling its web browser with Windows systems.

You can’t believe what your supervisor just said: “Our company is feeling the impact of the economic nose dive. So we’re going to have to eliminate your position, effective today. Now let’s take a minute to review your severance plan.”

On Wednesday the Treasury Department in its most recent monthly survey reported a larger decrease in bank lending rate to consumers.

A 13-year-old boy who police say was caught red-handed a block away was accused on Tuesday of robbing a bank in Peoria.

The Obama administration wants to ensure that legislation being crafted by Congress to fight global climate change does not violate international trade rules and backfire on U.S. exports, the top U.S. trade official said in a letter to a Republican lawmaker.

Spam e-mail contributes severely to the emission of green house gases into the earth's atmosphere, according to research and calculations released Wednesday by anti-virus software maker McAfee Inc.

Oil prices fell marginally on Wednesday as government data showed U.S. crude stocks last week were at the highest level since September 1990.

France's parliament will vote again on a government-backed bill to crack down on Internet piracy, a proposal that was rejected the first time around in an embarrassing defeat for the ruling UMP party.

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The U.S. Federal Reserve may face uncomfortably close congressional scrutiny unless it can convince lawmakers that its job in the midst of a crisis is much bigger than merely raising and lowering interest rates.

Many economists expect the U.S. recession to end in the second half of this year, but companies catering to consumers showed on Wednesday that the prolonged downturn and rising unemployment are taking a toll on business in the near term.

The Dow and S&P 500 rose in a choppy session on Wednesday on hopes that the recession was moderating and Procter & Gamble's stock jumped after it raised its dividend.

President Barack Obama offered a

First Solar Inc. will build a 48 Megawatt photovoltaic power plant that would become the largest in the U.S. when its construction is completed in 2010, the company announced on Wednesday.

Fiat SpA's chief executive said there were other options to a partnership with troubled U.S. car maker Chrysler LLC although he still wanted seal the deal by the April 30 deadline set by Washington.

The French Navy detained 11 suspected pirates in a raid off the coast of Kenya Wednesday, the French Ministry of Defense announced.

The global car industry is showing no convincing signs of recovery yet as sluggishness in developed economies has deeply dented demand, a Hyundai Motor Group vice chairman said on Wednesday.

The risk of a General Motors Corp bankruptcy is rising, causing bondholders to pursue independent strategies to protect their interests if GM's survival battle moves to bankruptcy court, two sources close to the government talks with GM said on Tuesday.

U.S. consumer prices fell in March, posting their first 12-month drop in nearly 54 years, and industrial production slipped further, according to data on Wednesday that underscored the severity of the recession.

The Dow rose on Wednesday after better-than-expected regional factory data added to hopes that the recession is moderating, prompting investors to pick up shares of manufacturers, including United Technologies and 3M Co .