Mark Brooks

The figure includes nearly $1.3 billion in criminal fines -- the largest such penalty ever -- along with payments to several government entities.

The suit aims to change how Microsoft advertises its device and hopes to force the company to give back revenue and profits that resulted from its alleged wrongful conduct.

Other commodities prices ended mixed Wednesday. Metals prices were mostly higher, as were corn and soybeans.

Mark Fields, who becomes chief operating officer on Dec. 1, said higher inventories will force some automakers to raise rebates and other incentives, and that is likely to cut into what has been stable pricing for Ford.

Potential claimants had until Nov. 5 to revoke requests to be excluded from the settlement agreement. A court filing Wednesday asks U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to extend the deadline to Dec. 15.

The Republicans say the investigation has found that Corzine's decisions caused MF Global's bankruptcy in October 2011 and its loss of more than $1 billion in customer money.

The EU said the other half of the program depends on agreement with the International Monetary Fund on an even larger loan.

The process to restart the refinery began a little more than two weeks after it was shut down as a precaution ahead of the massive storm, the company said Wednesday in an emailed statement.

The euro rose to $1.2752 in afternoon trading from $1.2705 late Tuesday.

Workers with jobs and without spoke of a "social emergency" crippling the world's largest economic bloc, a union of 27 nations and half a billion people.

Standing in the East Room of the White House, Obama pointedly noted he had campaigned on a platform that called for allowing tax breaks to expire as scheduled on Dec. 31 for the wealthiest income earners.

International Energy Agency predicted demand will grow at a slower pace into next year.

Former Disney CEO fouded The Tornante Company.

Atlantic City casino revenue could be down 25% for the next six months.

The government has encouraged homegrown alternatives to Twitter and Facebook.

Twenty-two percent higher than the same month last year

Finance ministers delay $40 billion in aid for Greece.

Both have agreed to sell their positions to the Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft.

Canada's natural resources minister says it's critically important to build pipelines to the Pacific Coast so Canada can export to Asia.

But we'll be taking shorter trips to save on gas and other costs.