Online casinos are signing endorsement deals with celebrities, but the stars could be putting themselves in legal jeopardy.

Preston Robert Tisch, who was a half-owner of the New York Giants, built a business empire with his older brother, Laurence.

Investigators said they had uncovered evidence that Kenneth Y. Tomlinson had broken laws in a campaign to combat what he saw as liberal bias.

Drug firms Roche and Gilead set aside their differences and strike a deal over the production of antiviral treatment Tamiflu.

Australian budget airline Virgin Blue, quarter-owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, sees annual profits dip.

AP - China's main measure of investment in construction, factory equipment and other fixed assets rose 27.2 percent in October from a year earlier, the government said Wednesday, a lower pace of growth than expected.

The US wins its fight to stay in charge of the internet, as a key UN summit on the net opens in Tunisia.

Rupert Murdoch admits the share price of News Corp is currently poor, but says it will recover strongly.

Strong sales of the latest releases by Coldplay and Gorillaz help to push profits up at music group EMI.

The number of people out of work fell by 1,000 between July and September to 1.43 million, official figures show.

Reuters - Oil dipped to a four-month low under $57 a barrel on Wednesday as dealers braced for a fresh increase in U.S. oil inventories amid unseasonally warm weather.

China's economy is still powering ahead, a state report about investment spending says.

Vodafone's customer-losing Japanese mobile phone unit is about to turn the corner and recover, its boss says.

EU competition boss Neelie Kroes says she wants more powers to intervene on mergers inside one country.

Sony BMG is recalling all the CDs that use the controversial XCP anti-piracy software.

Reuters - Tyco International Ltd. on Wednesday said quarterly net profit doubled from a year earlier, boosted by a lower tax rate, while it took a charge to settle a patent infringement suit at its health care business.

Reuters - D.R. Horton Inc. , the No. 1 U.S. home builder, beat forecasts on Wednesday with a 61 percent rise in fiscal fourth-quarter profit, driven by strong sales performance in all its regions.

Reuters - Security company Brink's Co. said on Wednesday it agreed to sell its BAX Global operating unit to German rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG for about $1.1 billion in cash.

Reuters - U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat market opening on Wednesday as inflation data expected before the start of trading kept investors cautious and after Tyco International Ltd. gave a weak outlook.

Preston Robert Tisch, who was a half-owner of the New York Giants, built a business empire with his older brother, Laurence.

Consumer prices grew at their slowest pace in the US for four months during October, official figures show.

Pacific Rim ministers call for flexibility at global trade talks, but pull short of blaming Europe for the current impasse.

UK inflation is expected to meet its 2% target in the next two years, the Bank of England predicts.

Reuters - U.S. consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in October despite a dip in energy prices as the cost of housing notched the largest gain in nearly five years, government data showed on Wednesday.

Reuters - Diversified manufacturer Tyco International Ltd. on Wednesday said quarterly net profit doubled, but its revenue and current-quarter outlook missed Wall Street estimates, sending its shares down nearly 2 percent.

Reuters - D.R. Horton Inc. , the No. 1 U.S. home builder, on Wednesday raised its outlook for the coming year after reporting fiscal fourth-quarter profit that beat forecasts as strong performance in all regions remained strong, despite concerns of a industry slowdown.

Reuters - Inamed Corp. , a maker of wrinkle treatments and breast implants, on Wednesday said a $3.2 billion unsolicited takeover bid by Allergan Inc. could lead to a superior deal to its existing $2.5 billion agreement to be acquired by Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp.

AP - Japanese economic research organizations have raised their growth forecasts for the current fiscal year after healthy third-quarter gross domestic product data suggested the world's second-largest economy is recovering after more than a decade of stagnation.

Reuters - U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday after the government reported core consumer inflation data in line with Wall Street expectations and after Gilead Sciences Inc. settled a dispute over a flu treatment, causing its shares to jump.

AP - Zale Corp., the nation's biggest specialty jewelry retailer, reported Wednesday a wider loss for the first quarter, reflecting a charge for shutting down stores.

The consumer inflation rate touched its lowest level since June as surging gasoline prices fell from their peak in September.

The European Parliament votes to put together a blacklist of airlines that fail to meet safety requirements.

The number of UK financial services jobs outsourced to low-cost centres aboard is expected to soar to 180,000 by 2010, a survey says.

EU competition boss Neelie Kroes says she wants more powers to intervene on mergers inside one country.

Reuters - U.S. consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in October despite a dip in energy prices as the cost of housing notched the largest gain in nearly five years, government data showed on Wednesday.

Reuters - Ford Motor Co. said on Wednesday it is recalling nearly 226,000 vehicles in the United States and Canada, including its flagship Ford Five Hundred sedan and Freestyle wagon, because of fire risks.

Reuters - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after the government reported an unexpected drop in crude oil supplies in the latest week, driving oil prices higher after relatively tame data on core inflation.

AP - Zale Corp., the nation's biggest specialty jewelry retailer, reported Wednesday a wider loss for the first quarter, reflecting a charge for shutting down stores.

The Senate Banking Committee voted today to confirm Ben S. Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve, where he would succeed Alan Greenspan.

UK workers have the lowest sense of job security out of staff in 18 of the world's leading economies, a survey finds.

The UN secretary general calls on the world to do more to narrow the technology gap between rich and poor.

Reuters - U.S. consumer prices rose faster than forecast in October but financial markets took heart from underlying inflation, which analysts see holding the Federal Reserve to a gradual path of interest rate hikes.

Reuters - Diversified manufacturer Tyco International Ltd. on Wednesday promised to take action to revive its flagging stock price, sending the shares up 4 percent despite a disappointing quarterly earnings outlook.

Reuters - American Express Co. said on Wednesday that it was worried some Wall Street analysts were being overly optimistic about its short-term earnings outlook.

Reuters - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after energy companies' shares rose on higher oil prices, while American Express Co. shares fell after its CEO told an investors' conference that some analysts' expectations for its earnings were too high.

Reuters - Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the column are solely those of Ms. Stern. You can email her at lindastern(at)aol.com.

AP - Zale Corp., the nation's biggest specialty jewelry retailer, reported Wednesday a wider loss for the first quarter, reflecting a charge for closing stores.

German luxury carmaker Porsche sees its annual profits jump 8.9%, boosted by strong sales across its model range.

The average salaries of skilled employees in China is far higher than in India, a new survey reveals.

Reuters - Fresh off a victory in the last Vioxx case to go to trial, Merck & Co Inc. is preparing to start fighting another lawsuit over the painkiller later this month in a Houston federal court.

Reuters - The judge overseeing Delta Air Lines Inc.'s bankruptcy case on Wednesday rejected a request by the union representing its pilots that she disqualify herself from ruling on their salaries.

Reuters - U.S. blue-chip stocks slipped on Wednesday as General Motors Corp. shares extended losses over worries about the automotive sector, while American Express Co. dropped after its chief executive said some analysts' earnings expectations were too high.

Reuters - A slide in retail gasoline prices has helped boost U.S. demand, bringing consumption above the year-ago period for the first time since Hurricane Katrina hit at the end of August, the government said on Wednesday.

The man nominated by the US president to head the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, is one step closer to securing the top job.

AP - Hurricane Katrina likely wiped out 11 years of employment growth in the New Orleans region and left it as the state's second biggest metropolitan area behind Baton Rouge, according to a report issued Wednesday by a group of university economists.

Reuters - U.S. blue-chip stocks slipped on Wednesday as General Motors Corp. shares fell on investor worries about continued deep discounting in the automotive sector.

AP - Zale Corp., the nation's biggest specialty jewelry retailer, reported Wednesday a wider loss for the first quarter, reflecting a charge for closing stores.

Reuters - Overall U.S. consumer prices picked up more than expected in October but financial markets took heart from underlying inflation, which economists see as ensuring a gradual path of interest rate rises ahead.

Reuters - Yahoo Inc. . shares climbed 6 percent on Wednesday, hitting a five-year high, amid expectations the company's earnings are poised to rise thanks to strong demand for advertising space on the Web portal.

Reuters - Applied Materials Inc. , the biggest maker of tools to produce microchips, on Wednesday forecast flat profits and slowing order growth for its current quarter, and its shares fell.

The consumer inflation rate touched its lowest level since June as surging gasoline prices fell from their peak in September.