IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks gained on Wednesday as a tentative labor agreement at General Motors Corp eased worries about Detroit's automakers and more weak economic data added to expectations for another cut in interest rates.

The United States rejected on Wednesday Iran's claim that its nuclear program is a "closed" matter and said it would keep pushing for fresh U.N. Security Council sanctions that are resisted by China and Russia.

The blazing morning sun promises another triple-digit day, and inside Stage 16 at

Cisco Systems Inc said on Tuesday that it will cooperate with the Haier Group, China's largest manufacturer of household appliances, to build networking systems for home and individual users, as well as expanding the Chinese and international markets.

New orders for costly U.S.-made manufactured goods dropped at the sharpest rate in seven months during August, according to a government report which added to signs growth was slowing in the third quarter.

U.S. home loan applications slumped last week after climbing for three straight weeks, an industry group said on Wednesday, as falling demand for home purchase loans overshadowed a fourth consecutive weekly rise in refinancing requests.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday said it expected Chilean economic growth to slow to 5.3 percent next year from 5.8 percent in 2007, but said the economy was well placed to weather external shocks.

General Motors Corp's quick settlement with its major union allows the softening U.S. economy to sidestep another blow and sets the stage for similar deals that could boost domestic automakers, analysts and investors said on Wednesday.

The gross domestic product of the U.K. grew by 0.8 percent in the second quarter, according to a new report released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), on Wednesday.

China Shenhua Energy, the courntry's largest coal producer, has attracted a record 2.67 trillion yuan (US 355.6 billion) in subscriptions for its A-share innitial public offering (IPO),according to the China Securities Journal.

Sony Corp sold about 250,000 units of the new version of the PlayStation Portable in Japan in the four days since its launch, a game magazine publisher said on Wednesday, roughly matching total Japanese sales of the original PSP in the two months through August.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday said it expected Chilean economic growth to slow to 5.3 percent next year from 5.8 percent in 2007, but said the economy was well placed to weather external shocks.

Warner Bros Entertainment has agreed with United Arab Emirates' Aldar Properties and a UAE media company to set up a film and video game production firm, state-controlled Aldar said on Wednesday.

The dollar rebounded from record lows against the euro on Wednesday, brushing aside a steeper-than-expected fall in August durable goods orders as buyers took advantage of cheap exchange rates.

The dollar rebounded from record lows against the euro on Wednesday, brushing aside a steeper-than-expected fall in August durable goods orders as buyers took advantage of cheap exchange rates.

Microsoft Corp has cemented its reputation among hardcore gamers with the launch of alien shoot-out Halo 3, but it is still struggling to attract the mass market audience that has flocked to Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii console.

Top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill said on Wednesday North Korea could move ahead to "disable" its nuclear arms programmes by the end of this year, adding it was important to remain focused.

Sudan's northern government has taken $6.51 million from the south's oil revenues, saying it was for custom exemptions granted to vital aid to rebuild the war-torn region, a southern official said.

Gold fell in Europe on Wednesday, consolidating a recent run to 28-year peaks as the dollar rebounded slightly from record lows versus the euro and took some shine off bullion's appeal for non-U.S. investors.

Standard & Poor's, under fire for its role in the U.S. housing market meltdown, is taking steps to ensure its ratings are sound and is reviewing its rated transactions more frequently, the credit rating agency told a Senate panel on Wednesday.

Kazakhstan passed a law on Wednesday allowing the government to break contracts with foreign companies, alarming investors and raising the stakes in its row with an Italian-led group developing a huge oilfield.

French-Dutch airline Air France KLM is planning to team up with two Spanish firms to bid for Spain's Iberia against a group led by private equity group TPG, Expansion newspaper said on Wednesday.

The European Union said on Wednesday U.S. subsidies for Boeing Co. had caused Airbus billions of dollars of damage in recent years and described the U.S. response to the charges as weak.

Vilified as a Holocaust denier, a supporter of terrorism and a backer of Iraqi insurgents, the president of Iran was actually able to make New Yorkers burst into laughter but not at a joke.

Toshiba Corp, Canon Inc and 30 to 40 other Japanese firms will team up to develop biochips, seeking new revenues in a market currently dominated by U.S. firms.

Sharp Corp said it would launch a Blu-ray high-definition DVD recorder with a 1-terabyte hard disk drive (HDD), the world's largest storage capacity on any Blu-ray recorder, as it competes with the HD DVD camp. Sharp, along with Sony Corp and Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, promotes Blu-ray optical disc technology, while Toshiba Corp and Microsoft Corp back the rival HD DVD format.

When a Western bank suddenly suspended the account of her family freight firm, Nazila Noebashari revived a financial practice she thought long gone: she sent staff to the Afghan border to collect $50,000 by hand.

Microsoft Corp is offering to replace damaged discs of its just-launched Halo 3 game for the Xbox amid reports that special limited-edition packaging is scratching them.

Bank of America Corp said it will lay off about 2,500 workers in Illinois and 1,500 in Michigan over the next two years in connection with its $21 billion purchase of LaSalle Bank Corp from Dutch bank ABN AMRO Holding NV.