IBT Staff Reporter

Merrill Lynch & Co traders may have booked hefty losses late last year only after learning of their 2008 bonuses, but executives chose not to revisit their decision to pay out $3.62 billion of bonuses, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.

Stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday after JP Morgan Chase's chief executive said his bank was profitable in January and February, echoing comments by Citigroup's CEO a day earlier.

Stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday after JP Morgan Chase's chief executive said his bank was profitable in January and February, echoing comments by Citigroup's CEO a day earlier.

Google Inc will begin to aim online ads at people based on their Web browsing history, joining an industry trend that has raised privacy concerns even as it makes product pitches more effective.

EBay Inc, struggling to compete in a crowded and slowing e-commerce market, envisions a remaking the company by galvanizing growth at its nascent PayPal payments system, its top executive said on Wednesday.

Private equity company Blackstone Group LP CEO Stephen Schwarzman said on Tuesday that up to 45 percent of the world's wealth has been destroyed by the global credit crisis.

AT&T plans to purchase more than $500 million in vehicles running on alternative fuels over the next 10 years, with many of them coming from U.S. auto makers.

Oil fell more than 7 percent to $42 per barrel on Wednesday on further signs of weak global demand and rising inventories in top consumer the United States.

Not long ago, Americans were being offered as much as $100 just to sign up for a credit card. Now, up to $300 is being dangled as an incentive for them to give up their plastic. U.S. credit card issues are slashing rewards, raising interest rates and increasing fees as loan losses mount.

AT&T Inc will spend $565 million over 10 years to replace or buy about 15,000 vehicles in its corporate fleet with cars and other vehicles that run on alternative fuels, the company said on Wednesday.

AT&T Inc will spend $565 million over 10 years to replace or buy about 15,000 vehicles in its corporate fleet with cars and other vehicles that run on alternative fuels, the company said on Wednesday.

The top U.S. and Chinese diplomats have their share of work cut out for them as they strive to reconcile differences between the two nations following the weekend naval confrontation.

Some former customers of financier Bernard Madoff despise him for his fraud, but they are also angry with their government and a financial system they say robbed them of their savings.

Low-cost long-haul flights have returned to the UK with the launch of Air Asia X services from London to Kuala Lumpur.

Australia has pledged to provide $6.4m to Zimbabwe to help provide clean water and draw health professionals back into the system, becoming the first Western country to announce the aid.

Bank of America Corp has put a private bank it inherited from Merrill Lynch & Co on the block, and the largest U.S. bank may try to sell other assets as well.

Oil fell 5 percent to below $44 on Wednesday on further signs of weak global demand and rising inventories in top consumer the United States.

Some former customers of financier Bernard Madoff despise him for his fraud, but they are also angry with their government and a financial system they say robbed them of their savings.

EBay Inc, struggling to compete in a crowded and slowing e-commerce market, is remaking the company, starting by accelerating growth at its nascent PayPal payments system, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Stocks faltered in choppy trade on Wednesday, dragged lower by energy shares including Exxon Mobil , as the price of oil fell on concerns about curbed demand.

Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday that it expects operating savings of $500 million per year from an agreement with the United Auto Workers that will push hourly wage rates into the ballpark of foreign-based rivals.

Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday that it expects operating savings of $500 million per year from an agreement with the United Auto Workers that will push hourly wage rates into the ballpark of foreign-based rivals.

HSBC shares volatile ahead of $18 billion rights issue Europe’s biggest, HSBC, remains volatile ahead of $18 Billion rights issue after shares fell by 24 percent when large investors shorted the stock ahead.

Oil fell 5 percent to below $44 on Wednesday on further signs of weak global demand and rising inventories in top consumer the United States.

U.S. stocks faltered in choppy trade on Wednesday, dragged lower by energy shares including Exxon Mobil , as the price of oil fell on concerns about curbed demand.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday that Group of 20 nations need to boost spending for as long as necessary to counter a severe financial crisis.

Nasa's Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-119) will blast off today from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:20 p.m. PST on a 14-day mission to complete International Space Station.

The British arm of Toyota Motor Corp is to cut UK staff pay and working hours by 10 percent to save money in the face of a sharp downturn in global demand, the Japanese auto maker said on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks edged higher in bumpy trading on Wednesday as a rise in technology shares helped temper unease about whether the government would soon lay out a plan to restore confidence in the banking system.