IBT Staff Reporter

For many, the sight of a bird’s eggs hatching or tulips blooming signifies the arrival of spring. Historically, spring is also the time for rising gasoline prices. Over the last 10 years, the monthly average retail price for regular-grade

Sprint Nextel and Clearwire said it will combine their wireless broadband units to build nationwide wireless network to provide high-speed Internet connections for laptops and cellphones.

Tokyo stocks closed higher Wednesday as optimism over the U.S. economic outlook and the U.S. dollar's strength against the yen during a four-day holiday in Japan spurred buying.

U.S. officials detained a senior banker at Swiss bank UBS as part of an investigation to see if the bank helped its American clients evade taxes, the Financial Times reported.

Dollar drifted lower against the euro yesterday and closed at 1.5529 (1.5491)

Sterling closed marginally higher against the dollar yesterday while the market players awaited Thursday s key Central Bank policy meetings when the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will announce the results of interest rate policy meetings.

The dollar fell versus the euro on Tuesday after the biggest U.S. mortgage financing company, Fannie Mae, reported a bigger than expected first quarter loss.

China's Industry and Information Ministry issued statistics showing the country's total import and export volume of electronic information products reached $201 billion dollars in the first quarter, of which exports to $115.9 billion, accounting for 37.9 percent of the country's total export volume of foreign trade.

Chennai-based business conglomerate, Murugappa Group said it has set aside Rs.1300 crore ($325 million) in the current fiscal towards business expansion.

Malaysia's top mobile phone operator, Maxis Communications, said it will invest $4-5 billion over the next 2-3 years to expand its business operations in India.

Mukesh Ambani, the world's fifth richest man with a net worth of $43 billion, has set a new record - owning a home worth a whopping $2 billion.

Nasscom or National Association of Software and Services Companies, the consortium that serves as the apex body of the Indian IT software and BPO industry, together with global management consulting firm AT Kearney has released a comprehensive assessment report of 50 locations in India suitable for the IT - BPO industry titled 'Location Roadmap For IT- BPO Growth: Assessment Of 50 Leading Cities.'

Sensex, the prime index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) continued its downslide on Tuesday, declining 0.67 percent on profit booking as investors continued to remain wary of global market developments.

China, having the biggest population in the world, has sufficient grain reserves, helping keep the price of grain stable despite global market surging, China officials said.

The FTSE 100 share index dropped marginally by 0.3 points to 6,215.2, on Tuesday.

Vanco Plc requested on Tuesday that the Financial Services Authority suspend trading in its securities pending clarification of its financial position.

Bovis Homes said on Tuesday that conditions in the housing market had deteriorated sharply in recent times, and that as a result the company expected its results for the first half of 2008 to be significantly lower than previously expected.

On Tuesday the Woolf Committee published a report on BAE Systems ethical business practices. The report comes following allegations of bribery around arms deals between BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia.

Advertising company WPP is encouraging shareholders in Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) to put pressure on the board of the company to engage in takeover talks with WPP. The news comes after TNS said it rejected a £950 million (230 pence per share) offer from WPP on 4 May.

Lloyds TSB said on Tuesday that it was continuing to deliver good growth in its relationship banking business despite what it called a difficult period for financial services companies.

Copper prices fell on Tuesday as the strike at Codelco in Chile ended after more than 20 days of protests from labor subcontract workers.

Walt Disney Co shares climbed near 3 percent after the firm reported on Tuesday its quarterly profit climbed triggered by stronger park attendance and better studio results.

Cisco Systems Inc., the world's largest maker of networking equipment, said third-quarter profit declined on acquisition costs, but adjusted earnings and revenue topped Wall Street's expectations.

Oil could potentially soar up to $200 within the next two years as part of a super-spike driven by slowing growth in oil supplies, investment bank Goldman Sachs said in a research note on Tuesday.

Gold futures rose for a third straight session after the dollar fell against the euro and oil surged to a new record above $122 a barrel, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.

Wheat increased the most in more than a month, boosted by speculation that a price cut will increase the demand for U.S. supplies.

Vodafone Plc announced on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Apple, Inc to sell its iPhone device in ten countries and two carriers in Italy.

Corn advanced on Tuesday following a report that showed that farmers were planting the grain at a slow pace due to excessive rains.

U.S. stocks shifted higher on Tuesday, reversing earlier losses and pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to a four-month high, after Fannie Mae calmed investors about its financial situation and oil companies rallied on record crude prices.