IBT Staff Reporter

Chrysler LLC and the United Auto Workers union were negotiating a new labor agreement on Wednesday hours before a union-imposed strike deadline.

Gold extended gains on Wednesday as a soft dollar encouraged buying, while Tokyo futures tracked bullion to hit a fresh 22-½ year high.

The United Auto Workers union and automaker Chrysler LLC remained locked in contract talks on Wednesday morning just hours before a strike deadline set by the union that could trigger the industry's second major work stoppage in as many weeks.

Stock futures dropped on Wednesday as investors turned cautious about the outlook for profits after Alcoa Inc's earnings missed estimates and International Paper Co. issued a profit warning.

A senior U.S. official said China's policies could give domestic firms an unfair advantage and spell a retreat from open markets.

As the world's wealth pumps into the pockets of a new generation of heirs and entrepreneurs, private banks are looking for new ways to attract a clientele worlds away from the stuffy image of wealth management.

Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc on Tuesday posted a 3 percent rise in third-quarter earnings, as a gain on the sale of its stake in a Chinese aluminum company offset weaker aluminum prices.

Members of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee agreed unanimously that a rate cut of half a percentage point to a key lending rate was needed in order to offset the effects of a weakened credit market on the economy's outlook, according to minutes released on Tuesday from the committee’s September 18 meeting.

The Dow and S&P 500 jumped to close at records on Tuesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting showed inflation expectations were contained, leaving open the question of whether another rate cut is near.

Yang Huiyan, a 26-year-old woman worth $16.2 billion, is the Chinese mainland's richest person, topping a list of tycoons whose wealth has soared amid a boom in stock and property prices, the business magazine Forbes said yesterday. She is also Asia's richest woman.

Tokyo-Sony Corp.’s game unit announced Tuesday that it will cut the prices of PlayStation3 game consoles and sell a cheaper edition of PS3 in Japan.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), UK retail sales experienced 3% growth this September, a significant increase from the 1.8% growth recorded this August.

The world largest mining company, BHP Billiton, announced its first oil production from the Genghis Khan development, located in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico on Monday.

South Australia delivered regular loads of barley and wheat one month earlier compared to last season 2006, a report released from ABB Grain Ltd.

Qantas said on Tuesday it would implement a multi-million dollar investment to cater business travelers in its New Zealand domestic product from November 2007.

All members of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee agreed a half-percentage point federal funds interest rate cut was necessary to shield the economy from credit disruptions and an intensifying housing slowdown, minutes of their September 18 meeting released on Tuesday showed.

On Monday in the UK, postal workers again went on a 48 hour strike after intensive talks over the weekend failed to reach an agreement on issues of pay, pensions and job cuts.

Retailers are touting holiday deals and discounts earlier than ever this year, but the efforts may fall flat as consumers expect to start shopping for this crucial season later than ever, according to a survey released on Tuesday by NPD Group.

The India government and its communist allies stepped back from the brink on Tuesday, agreeing to meet again this month to resolve a row over a nuclear deal with the United States that threatens to spark a snap election.

Even before its official launch in China, Research In Motion's BlackBerry faces daunting challenges from low-cost rivals and a thicket of regulations that could trip up its advance into the world's largest mobile market.

South Korean flat-screen maker LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd. posted its strongest profit in 13 quarters on Tuesday, helped by tight supplies and growing demand that is expected to keep the sector healthy through 2008.

Niklas Zennstrom, co-founder of Internet telecoms company Skype, said on Tuesday he agreed the original valuation put on the company by purchaser eBay was too high.

BitTorrent Inc., which was co-founded by the developer of a software program widely used to share pirated music and video over the Web, plans to start helping media companies stream videos over the Internet.

Stocks inched higher on Tuesday as investors bet that quarterly earnings reports, which begin later on Tuesday, would beat estimates and brokerages raised price targets on some of the biggest technology stocks.

American Electric Power reached a settlement with the U.S. government that will cost the giant utility $4.6 billion to reduce harmful air pollution from 16 coal-burning power plants, the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.

Swiss bank UBS is expanding its wealth management business in Japan, bringing its brand of tailored banking to the rich of the world's second-biggest economy.

Cathay Financial, Taiwan's top financial holding firm, posted a forecast-beating three-fold rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday thanks to strong local stock returns and better net interest margins.

Student lender Sallie Mae said on Monday it has filed a lawsuit, seeking damages of $900 million, against the consortium that agreed to buy it for $25 billion but then proposed to revise its offer.

Britain threw a fresh lifeline to Northern Rock on Tuesday, offering to guarantee new retail deposits and extend funding arrangements in a bid to win the bank time to salvage something from its battered business.