IBT Staff Reporter

Oil fell $1 to below $45 a barrel on Wednesday on further signs of weak global demand and rising inventories in top consumer the United States.

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.

Staples Inc on Wednesday posted a 14 percent fall in quarterly profit that missed Wall Street estimates as customers put off purchases of business machines and furniture, and said it would not give an outlook for 2009 because of the uncertain economy.

The U.S. is telling American International Group Inc it needs to spend less. Under directions from the Treasury, the bailed-out insurance company has a new expense guide for employees, limits on executive pay, and a committee that will oversee the company.

Apple has launched a new talking version of its iPod shuffle music player on Wednesday, which uses VoiceOver technology to speak aloud the titles of songs and the names of artists and playlists.

Oil fell toward $45 a barrel on Wednesday as further evidence of a large drop in global crude demand emerged.

Stocks rose on Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 index attempting the first two-day advance in a month, as investors held out hope that Washington would restore confidence in banks by relieving them of money-losing assets.

Apple Inc introduced a smaller version of its popular iPod Shuffle music player on Wednesday with a new feature that announces songs to its user.

Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday that it expected 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.

Shares in French carmakers Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroen rose sharply on Wednesday on market talk of a merger between the groups, traders said, as Renault denied the rumor.

U.N. human rights investigators on Tuesday announced a global investigation into secret detention and said they would not relax scrutiny of U.S. counter-terrorism policies under President Barack Obama.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 index attempting its first two-day advance in a month, as investors bet Washington would restore confidence in banks by relieving them of money-losing assets.

Apple Inc introduced a smaller version of its popular iPod Shuffle music player on Wednesday with a new feature that enables it to announce songs to its user.

Stocks rose on Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 index attempting its first two-day advance in a month, as investors bet Washington would restore confidence in banks by relieving them of money-losing assets.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday accused the United States of preparing for a war against the communist state in Pyongyang's first verbal criticism of the Obama Administration.

UBS said earnings would remain at risk due to its exposure to illiquid and choppy markets, as it revised up its 2008 net loss, the biggest in Swiss corporate history, to include a large U.S. tax fine and extra writedowns.

Former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz was jailed for 15 years on Wednesday and two of Saddam Hussein's half brothers were sentenced to death for their roles in the killings of dozens of traders in 1992.

Senior Chinese navy officers poured scorn on the United States in the wake of a weekend naval confrontation, with one saying the Americans are villains crying foul as fallout between the two giants simmered.

Nearly 400 people fled Sri Lanka's shrinking war zone and a wounded cabinet minister regained consciousness after a suicide bombing blamed on the cornered Tamil Tiger rebels, officials said Wednesday.

The world's advanced economies are moving too slowly in ridding banks of problem assets, which could jeopardize a global economic recovery in 2010, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told regional leaders on Wednesday that the capitalist system was close to collapse.

Gone are the days of luxury California hotel retreats for executives of bailed-out U.S. insurance giant American International Group.

Nokia unveiled three new music phones on Wednesday and laid out further expansion plans for its music service as the world's top cell phone maker seeks additional revenue streams.

A day after he slammed China for causing untold suffering in Tibet, the Dalai Lama Wednesday said he still believed the future was bright and hoped the Chinese leadership would use more common sense.

A 17-year old gunman went on a shooting spree at his former school in southwest Germany on Wednesday, killing up to 15 people before dying himself in a shootout with police, authorities said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed a comprehensive U.S. system for reporting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, a step toward regulating pollutants that spur climate change.

Stocks rose at the open on Wednesday, buoyed by hopes that Washington will soon restore confidence in banks, but American Express kept the market's advance in check after a bearish broker view.

Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said lower rates on long-term, fixed-rate mortgages and not the Federal Reserve's policies are to blame for the U.S. housing bubble.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials were struck by the early apparent success the Bank of England's plans to buy government bonds and could further consider moving forward on a similar effort in the United States, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.