IBT Staff Reporter

Online brokerages TD Ameritrade Holding Corp and E*Trade Financial Corp have been in serious merger discussions for weeks but are not close to a deal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Shock losses at some of the world's biggest banks have left some people asking whether new global bank risk rules have failed their first test of fire.

Sharp Corp said it has developed the world's thinnest and lightest LCD TVs with enhanced picture quality, in a pre-emptive move before the release of organic light-emitting diode TVs, known for their thin displays and crisp images.

iRobot Corp, a robot maker that sells floor cleaners as well as devices that defuse bombs, introduced on Wednesday a new line of vacuums in hopes of generating cash to invest in a wider range of products.

Google Inc. is leaning toward bidding in upcoming U.S. mobile phone airwave auctions, despite a partial setback last month from Washington regulators, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Tuesday.

Microsoft Corp. said on Tuesday it plans to introduce a computer mouse designed for PC gaming, in an effort to capture a growing segment of the computer peripheral equipment market.

A new service for mobiles that would provide telephony, television and Internet via satellite could be operational within a few years under a proposal made by the European Union's executive arm on Wednesday.

The market for video games is expected to expand by half over the next four years as it extends beyond hardcore gamers, the chief executive of French video game publisher Ubisoft said on Wednesday.

Popular mapping service Google Earth will launch a new feature called Sky, a virtual telescope that the search engine hopes will turn millions of Internet users into stargazers.

Shares rose on Wednesday as hopes grew of a U.S. interest rate cut to calm turbulent markets but an increase in risk appetite sent bonds lower and put the yen under pressure.

The yen fell and high-yielding currencies rose on Wednesday as growing expectations of a U.S. rate cut to ease tight liquidity conditions instilled a sense of calm and prompted investors to reenter risky carry trades.

Stocks gained on Wednesday, boosted by optimism about renewed deal activity and ongoing speculation the Federal Reserve might cut its benchmark interest rate to calm turbulent financial markets.

Toll Brothers on Wednesday reported sharply lower quarterly profit amid tightening credit standards that the builder said would likely to shrink the number of potential home buyers.

Nasdaq Chief Executive Robert Greifeld said on Wednesday he was listening to OMX owners and repeated the U.S. exchange group was flexible on the terms of its offer for the Nordic firm.

China, the world's top soy importer, has accused the United States of exporting substandard soybeans even as its own exports come under growing scrutiny abroad over safety concerns.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Wednesday for a broader Asia partnership of democracies that would include India, the United States and Australia but leave out the region's superpower, China.

Russia banned poultry imports from Italy starting Monday to prevent the spread of the bird flu virus after outbreaks in the EU member state, but Italy said the strain was not dangerous and the ban impact was negligible.

Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co said on Wednesday it has stopped taking loan applications and will cut 1,600 jobs, citing turmoil in the subprime mortgage industry. Accredited said it will close substantially all of its retail lending business, consisting of 60 branches and five central support operations.

China will have trouble cutting its dependence on coal despite growing pressures to fight global warming, a leading Chinese official said.

The site for one of Tesco Plc's first stores in the United States is a sun-scorched intersection in the sprawling Phoenix valley, opposite two pay-day loan firms and a gas station minimarket.

Indian communists sought to forge a consensus on Wednesday over whether to end support to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition government over a controversial nuclear deal with the United States.

Desperate efforts to save 181 Chinese coal miners from two shafts flooded with water and mud faced near impossible odds on Wednesday, as a safety official said mine owners had failed to anticipate the threat of disaster.

A Nicaraguan judge has embargoed assets of U.S. oil company Esso Standard Oil in a tax payment dispute between the government of leftist President Daniel Ortega and the unit of giant ExxonMobil Corp, a government aide said on Tuesday.

Investors sought to gauge on Wednesday the prospects of a near-term U.S. rate cut to calm a financial storm stemming from America's faltering home loan market, as some experts said the world economy would take a hit.

Toyota Motor Corp aims to sell around 10.4 million vehicles worldwide in 2009, up 18 percent from last year as it grabs market share in North America and taps growing demand in China and other emerging economies, business daily Nikkei reported on Wednesday.

Stocks were heading for a higher open on Wednesday on optimism about renewed deal activity and speculation the Federal Reserve might cut its benchmark interest rate to calm turbulent markets.

Most Asian stocks tiptoed higher in early trade on Wednesday, lifted by hopes that the U.S. might cut interest rates to calm turbulent markets, but the stronger yen weighed on Japan's exporters, such as Toyota Motor.

Experts are reassuring investors that U.S. money market mutual funds, which have gathered about $165 billion in new assets over an eight-week period, are safe from the subprime mortgage problems that have caused steep losses at several hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Inc on Tuesday named board member and industry veteran Richard Anderson the airline's new chief executive.