IBT Staff Reporter

Platinum surged to a historic high above $2,000 an ounce on continuing concerns of lower output by South Africa, the world's largest platinum producer.

Crude oil prices rose slightly on Wednesday after a government report showed an increase in U.S. retail sales, relieving fears of an economic recession and lower demand.

Gold futures edged lower on Wednesday while platinum surged to a historic high above $2,000 an ounce on continuing concerns of lower output by South Africa, the world's largest platinum producer.

In a moved to fight off a hostile takeover bid from Microsoft Corp., Internet portal Yahoo and social networking site MySpace could wind up as part of the same company if high level corporate talks come to bear fruit, according to reports.

Reports surfaced on Wednesday that chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices may be struggling with its latest notebook platform which may cause a leadership shakeup, or even acquisition.

Cocoa posted gains on Wednesday after chocolate makers hedged against further gains and higher production costs by buying contracts.

Yahoo's second biggest investor called-on Microsoft to increase its 42 billion bid for the web giant, and also increased pressure on Yahoo by saying it had few options left, increasing the pressure on the two companies to seal a deal that Yahoo had rejected earlier.

The dollar rose to its highest level against the yen on Wednesday after a government report indicated that retail sales in the U.S. rose more than expected, easing concerns about the likelihood of a U.S. recession.

Google shares for the online advertising market increased by 23.7 percent, less than 24.2 percent in the third quarter making the firm's first decline in two years.

US and Australia started talks on Tuesday, in Washington, in an effort to provide cheaper flights across the trans-pacific route.

A senior U.S. lawmaker said on Wednesday he had introduced legislation designed to prevent broadband Internet providers from unreasonable interference with subscribers' access to content.

Viruses on mobile phones are still rare but nearly three-quarters of mobile phone users in developed countries are worried about security on their handsets, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Comcast Corp has told U.S. regulators it uses reasonable measures to manage traffic moving over its broadband service as some of its customers overwhelm the network by using file-sharing applications like BitTorrent.

Yahoo Inc's second-biggest investor urged Microsoft Corp to raise its $42 billion bid for the Web pioneer and warned Yahoo it has few options left, raising the pressure on them to seal a deal.

Infrastructure must grow as visitors far outnumber residents at one of the world's best holiday destinations

Stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday, with investors cautious before retail sales data, which will be scrutinized for clues on the health of the consumer.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has joined forces with Vodafone to work on a standard telecommunications system for aid agencies around the world to improve logistics and response times to disasters.

Top Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyah, accused of masterminding a hijacking, suicide bombings and hostage takings of U.S. and Israeli targets in the 1980s, was killed by a car bomb in Damascus, the Shi'ite Muslim group said on Wednesday.

Two suitors competing to rescue British bank Northern Rock have been told to improve their offers to beat the alternative of nationalization, sources familiar with the matter said. The Virgin consortium, though, has been picked as a front-runner, ahead of a rival in-house proposal led by the mortgage bank's current management team, the sources said.

China is stepping up efforts to fight pollution. It will aim to reduce its emissions of sulphur dioxide by 6 per cent from their 2005 levels this year, the top environmental official said in remarks published on Tuesday.

Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd, a Japanese integrated manufacturer, announced on Monday that it would buy Axcelis Technologies Inc., a U.S. chipmaking equipment manufacturer, for about 544 million dollars.

The central bank of Rwanda launched its own securities exchange on Tuesday making it a milestone to the development of the nation that was severely affected by the 1994 genocide.

Yahoo increased its list of carrier partners on Tuesday when it announced a partnership with T-Mobile, an international carrier that is likely to make Yahoo oneSearch the exclusive search engine in T-Mobile's 11 European markets.

Intel, the world's biggest computer chipmaker was raided by the European Union competition regulators on allegations it abused its market position.

Roger Clemens will sit before U.S. lawmakers tomorrow, attempting to fight off charges from his former trainer Brian McNamee tomorrow that he took forbidden drugs.

The dollar rose against the yen Tuesday after billionaire investor Warren Buffett proposed a plan to bail out struggling insurers of municipal bonds.

Research In Motion, maker of the venerable Blackberry may introduce a touch-screen version of its popular handheld in an effort to battle the iPhone from Apple, which is encroaching into the smart phone market at a rapid pace.

Platinum gained on Tuesday amid concerns that shipments from South Africa might decline due to uncertainty over electricity supplies to the mines.

Copper futures gained on Tuesday for a fifth straight session as inventories declined.