Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Sharp Corp. may lose more money than it forecast this year, analysts predict, increasing pressure on the struggling Japanese electronics maker to raise funds and complete a stake sale to Foxconn Technology Group.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg's talk of Facebook's mobile prospects and his acknowledgment that the company cares about making money as well as making the world “more open and connected” lifted the battered shares of the social networking icon on Wednesday.

For the first time, the iPhone is growing. After sticking for five years to the same screen size, Apple on Wednesday revealed a new phone that's taller, with a bigger screen.

A survey shows that small business owners are losing confidence as they see the economy struggle.

Confidence among small businesses in the U.S. climbed in August for the first time in four months as more companies anticipated a pickup in hiring and sales.

Small business owners' concerns about government policies that affect their businesses have intensified after the deep recession and a recovery that doesn't feel much better.

Expedia is starting a rewards program for small business travelers who carry Chase credit cards.

Oil in New York declined for the first time in six days after an Energy Department report showed an unexpected increase in crude inventories.

Apple is holding an event in San Francisco during which it announced a new iPhone, capable of faster data speeds and sporting a taller screen. It also unveiled new iTunes software and new iPod devices.

The stock market edged higher Wednesday after a court cleared the way for Germany to participate in a European rescue fund. Attention shifted to the Federal Reserve, which began a big two-day meeting.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- McDonald’s Corp., the world’s biggest restaurant chain, will begin posting calorie information on menu boards at its U.S. stores next week as it works to stem criticism that its food causes obesity.

Meritage Homes said home orders for the combined July-August period rose 33 percent, a sign that the housing market is continuing its slow recovery.

Mortgage applications in the United States climbed for the first time in six weeks, as borrowing costs close to a record low spurred purchases and refinancing.

A fresh wave of anti-austerity strikes hit Greece Wednesday as the leaders of the governing coalition struggled to finalize further spending cuts for the coming two years without which the country will lose its vital rescue loans.

Investors breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday, sending the euro briefly above $1.29 for the first time in four months after Germany’s highest court rejected calls to block Europe’s permanent rescue fund.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Prices of goods imported into the U.S. rose in August for the first time in five months as the cost of petroleum surged.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Oil rose for a sixth day as Germany’s top constitutional court cleared the way for the permanent euro-area rescue fund and speculation grew that China and the U.S. will take fresh steps to stimulate their economies.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures advanced, indicating that the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will rise for a second day, after Germany’s highest constitutional court allowed the country to ratify the euro area’s permanent bailout fund.

President Barack Obama vowed Wednesday the United States would “work with the Libyan government to bring to justice” those who killed U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American personnel in an attack on the consulate in Benghazi.

Republican Mitt Romney on Tuesday assailed President Barack Obama anew over his administration's handling of foreign attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions, saying the president's team sent “mixed signals to the world” in the face of violence.

Shares of Sears Holdings Corp.'s new spinoff of its Hometown and Outlet stores rose in the new company's trading debut Wednesday.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. directors are preparing to promote Mark Fields to chief operating officer from president of the Americas, a move that anoints him as probable successor to Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, according to a person familiar with the plan.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- China’s silence on Vice President Xi Jinping’s 12-day absence from public view contrasts with past rebuttals of speculation about top officials and is escalating concern over the nation’s leadership succession.

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., the beverage business owned by China’s richest man, is hunting for global acquisitions to build an overseas distribution network as economic growth slows and competition heats up at home.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- A gauge of corporate credit risk decreased for a second day as a German court allowed ratification of a euro-area bailout fund.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Edward J. DeMarco, the overseer of taxpayer-supported Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said the firms need to increase the fees they charge to guarantee mortgages in states where it’s costlier for them to deal with bad debt.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- More than 1.3 million U.S. homeowners regained equity in their properties this year as prices rose after the worst real estate collapse since the 1930s, according to CoreLogic Inc.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Greece’s Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund has identified 40 uninhabited islands and islets that could be leased for as long as 50 years to reduce debt as pressure grows on the country to revive an asset-sales plan key to receiving international aid.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Norway’s banks may face stricter lending rules as the country’s financial regulator fights to prevent a repeat of a 1980s housing market bust that triggered a banking crisis and plunged the economy into a recession.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Detroit’s Belle Isle park reminds Shalon Turner of peace, family and days when the city had money to mow the grass, keep the 108-year-old aquarium open and fix the toilets.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Sam Zell took over as interim chief executive officer of real estate investment firm Equity International, according to the company’s website.

U.S. stocks moved higher Wednesday after a German court cleared the way for that country to participate in a European rescue fund. Attention shifted to the Federal Reserve, which began a two-day meeting.

Small business owners are getting a little more optimistic about how their companies will do after the election, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. directors are preparing to promote Mark Fields to chief operating officer from president of the Americas, a move that anoints him as probable successor to Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, according to a person familiar with the plan.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Sirius XM Radio Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mel Karmazin said he assumes Liberty Media Corp. will remove him as CEO as part of its plan to take over the satellite radio broadcaster.

Apple's new iPhone joins a slew of smartphones, tablet computers and other gadgets coming out for the holiday season.

The overall size of the JX35, which is 8.6 inches longer from bumper to bumper than an RX 350 but 5.5 inches shorter than an Enclave, is Goldilocks perfect -- neither too big nor too small for three rows of seats.

Weight Watchers International Inc. said Wednesday that Kim Roy is resigning from its board of directors effective Sept. 29.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. posted a record gain after Apple Inc. debuted the iPhone 5 with tighter integration for the social network, enabling voice-activated posts and photo sharing.

The euro rose to a four-month high against the dollar Wednesday after Germany's highest court paved the way for the country to participate in Europe's financial rescue fund.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has increased its quarterly dividend by 20 percent.

Official figures show year-on-year inflation in Germany spiked to 2.1 percent in August from 1.7 percent the month before following a sharp rise in the cost of fuel and food.

The new federal agency charged with enforcing consumer finance laws is emerging as an ambitious sheriff, taking on companies for deceptive fees and marketing and unmoved by protests that its tactics go too far.

Chesapeake Energy is selling the vast portion of its land and infrastructure in west Texas for nearly $7 billion as the company unloads debt and shifts more of its focus to drilling for oil, rather than natural gas.

American Airlines has signed a deal with SkyWest Inc. to do some of its regional flying.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Corn production in the U.S., the world’s largest grower and exporter, will drop 13 percent to a six-year low after the worst drought in more than 50 years damaged Midwest fields, the government said. Analysts were expecting an even bigger decline.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The cotton crop in the U.S., the world’s biggest exporter, will be 3.1 percent smaller than forecast last month, the government said.

If the world's investors are right, the Federal Reserve is about to take a bold new step to try to invigorate the U.S. economy.

U.S. wholesalers increased their stockpiles in July from June, but sales fell for a third straight month. Declining sales could force companies to cut inventories in coming months, a troubling sign that economic growth could weaken.

A new and uncertain era of e-book prices has begun.

Deep in the North Korean countryside, in remote villages that outsiders seldom reach, farmers are now said to be given nearly one-third of their harvests to sell at market prices. Collective farms are reportedly being reorganized into something closer to family farms. State propagandists are expounding the glories of change under the country's new young leader.

The government of India's capital is hoping that a strict ban on plastic bags will help the environment.

The White House Big Dig is finally wrapping up, but the Big Reveal is proving to be a pretty big letdown.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Edison International will file its plan to restart its San Onofre Unit 2 reactor by the end of the first week of October, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Allison Macfarlane said today.

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. rose the most in more than a month after Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said he’s addressing the missteps that have made it hard to reap the benefits of mobile advertising.

A rocky trail and hundreds of feet of twisted metal cables might not immediately conjure an image of something worthy of historical preservation.

The head of General Motors' operations in China, India and Southeast Asia has decided to retire.

As it announced its first big enforcement action against Capital One Financial this summer, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was preparing to raid a California company that had offered to help lower at-risk homeowners' monthly payments.

Shares of Mindspeed Technologies soared more than 20 percent in morning trading on Wednesday as the chipmaker boosted its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue forecast above Wall Street's view.

Japan's prime minister has hinted that the government will announce it will eventually abandon nuclear energy when it issues its new energy policy this week. News reports say the premier and Cabinet ministers have already agreed to the new policy.

Crude prices rose Wednesday ahead of a key Federal Reserve meeting that analysts expect to end with the announcement of a stimulus plan for the U.S. economy.

The company that manufactures Apple's iPhones has responded to an accusation that vocational students are forced to work in its Chinese factories by saying its agreement with their schools allows them to leave.

European Union officials are asking national governments to give up control of their banks as they try to pull the region closer together to solve its crippling financial crisis.

The American ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed when a mob of protesters and gunmen overwhelmed the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, setting fire to it in outrage over a film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Libya's new president apologized Wednesday for the attack, which underlined the lawlessness plaguing a region trying to recover from months of upheaval.

McDonald's restaurants across the country will soon get a new menu addition: The number of calories in the chain's burgers and fries.

A government survey shows about 821,000 U.S. households lost access to basic banking services between January 2009 and June 2011.

U.K. defense contractor BAE Systems PLC and European aerospace giant EADS NV said Wednesday they are in talks about combining their businesses.

OXNARD, Calif., Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, September 12 activists calling themselves the Genetic Crimes Unit (GCU) shut down shipping and receiving access points at Monsanto's Oxnard seed distribution facility located at 2700 Camino Del Sol. By peacefully blockading the exit and access points the group effectively shut down the distribution of genetically engineered (GMO) seeds for a day.

Libya's deputy U.N. ambassador on Wednesday blamed “an extremist group” for the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, whom he called “one of the greatest friends of Libya.”