IBT Staff Reporter

NASA released new images Wednesday of the moon's south pole region, a potential landing spot for humans or robotic lunar missions, demonstrating the surface is rockier than previously thought and has peaks as high as 2.5 miles along with deep craters.

The government on Wednesday lifted limits on the amount the two largest mortgage finance companies can invest in home loans, a move that could unleash billions more dollars to stabilize the housing market and fend off a possible recession

The attorney who claims to represent troubled pop star Britney Spears in the legal wrangling over control of her affairs vowed on Wednesday to continue his fight, one day after a federal judge ruled he is not the singer's lawyer.

Jay Leno has nearly two years left on the clock at The Tonight Show on NBC, but rival networks and at least one TV studio are said to be quietly, unofficially, courting the comedian with offers to keep him on the late-night circuit.

Following the success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Disney is jumping in on the battle of the bands by launching Ultimate Band, a new music-based game for the Nintendo Wii and DS.

Crude oil futures fell from a record of $102.08 a barrel on Wednesday after the U.S. Government reported that crude inventories rose, exceeding forecasts.

Treasury notes turned slightly lower lower on Wednesday after regulators removed some lending restrictions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated a willingness to continue lowering interest rates.

The dollar crossed under the $1.51 per euro mark for the first time on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled that the Fed could continue to lower interest rates.

Robusta coffee increased on Wednesday, posting the highest gain since 1995 in London after investors tried to change from surging global stock markets by buying commodities.

In a bid to tap into the boom in commodities trading, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has picked up 26 percent stake in Ahmedabad-based National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (NMCE) for about Rs.100 crore ($25 million).

A Japanese man was arrested for trespassing this week after turning up at a high school dressed in a girl's uniform and a long wig, local police said.

Gold surged to a record high above $960 on Wednesday as investors piled in, spurred by a plummeting dollar and oil rising above $100 a barrel.

The European Commission opened in-depth investigations on Wednesday to determine if billions of euros in German government assistance to two banks, hit by the U.S. sub-prime market crisis, amounted to illegal state aid.

China has opened its bond market wider to foreign banks, naming the local arms of JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered Bank as primary underwriters of debt issued by the Ministry of Finance.

NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's biggest mobile phone operator, will offer 24-hour free calls between family members as it fights to keep users from switching carriers.

Toyota Motor Corp will boost production capacity for its Lexus luxury cars in Japan by about 35 percent in 2009 to meet growing demand in emerging countries such as Russia and China, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday.

Justin Timberlake, Lou Reed, Billy Joel and Ben Harper are among the big names who've signed up to induct members of the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class next month in New York.

Michael Jackson's famed Neverland Valley Ranch in California will be foreclosed and sold on March 19 unless the pop star pays a balance of nearly $25 million, property records showed on Tuesday.

Never has an expression of love been so public -- or featured so many guys in cutoff jeans shorts -- or been so damn sincere.

MySpace and TMZ are set to launch a branded channel Wednesday on the social networking site's TV page. TMZ will contribute two or three clips per week to MySpace TV (http://vids.myspace.com/). These videos, which will have already screened on the celebrity news site's syndicated TV program. will be found online exclusively on MySpace for 24 hours after the airing.

Major powers are looking for new ways to draw Iran into negotiations over its nuclear program while simultaneously pushing for more U.N. sanctions, U.S. officials and diplomats said on Tuesday. Political directors from the permanent five members of the U.N. Security Council -- Russia, China, the United States, Britain and France -- as well as Germany, met in Washington on Monday to discuss how to tweak their Iran strategy.

Japan stocks buoyed Wednesday led by Asian stock markets' high stock prices and the news of sharp equity rises across Asia.

Honda Motor Co. has set a bullish sight on the Indian automobile market, announcing that it is stepping up automobile production in the country and will launch new models later this year, besides expanding its dealership network.

Tata Motors is set to take over Ford Motor Co's British luxury brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, in early March, following successful conclusion of talks with the automaker's labor union in UK, Unite.

Apple's Mac OS X is built on top of a foundation that pose security vulnerabilities, according to a new research report.

A federal court ruled on Tuesday that Microsoft must pay a Guatemalan investor for infringing his software in its Office Suite.

Pakistan lifted a ban on the YouTube video-sharing Web site on Tuesday saying that the video that was offensive to Islam had been removed.

Copper futures recovered on Tuesday rising along with commodities and boosted by a decline on inventories.

Rachel Lomax, deputy governor of the Bank of England has said that the economic outlook for 2008 has changed dramatically and that there was still uncertainty resulting from last year's credit crunch.