By Manuela D'Alessandro MILAN (Reuters) - Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were handed a 20-month suspended prison sentence and a heavy fine on Wednesday for hiding hundreds of millions of euros from the Italian tax authorities. The design duo, who are nearly as famous as the stars they dress, were not …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Interest rates on home mortgages rose last week to hit their highest level in over a year, sapping demand from potential homeowners, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday. Rates climbed 2 basis points to average 4.17 in the week ended June 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. …

By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday, with the losses accelerating even after the Federal Reserve said it would hold steady with its monetary policy. The central bank gave no explicit indication that it was close to pulling back on its program to buy $85 billion in bonds per month, a policy that …

By Alwyn Scott and Maria Sheahan PARIS (Reuters) - Orders at the Paris Airshow surpassed $100 billion on Wednesday, as planemakers Boeing and Airbus cashed in on demand for fuel-efficient jets and growth in both budget carriers and emerging markets. Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost airline, finalized an order for 175 …

By Jessica Toonkel and Soyoung Kim NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forest Laboratories Inc , the specialty drugmaker that counts investor Carl Icahn as a major shareholder, is among a handful of companies interested in bidding for Irish drugmaker Elan Corp , two people familiar with the situation said. Elan, which has a market capitalization …

By Sruthi Ramakrishnan (Reuters) - Adobe Systems Inc, which makes the Photoshop and Acrobat software, reported a higher-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit as demand rose for Creative Cloud, the subscription-based version of its flagship software package. Shares of the company rose 4.4 percent in after-market trading. …

By Euan Rocha and Peter Henderson BURLINGTON, Ontario (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada cannot rely on its usual models to assess the economy because of unexpectedly high levels of uncertainty, with the biggest risks coming from abroad, the new central bank chief, Stephen Poloz, said on Wednesday. Answering audience questions …

By Sophie Knight and Sinead Carew TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Corp cleared a major hurdle in its attempt to buy U.S. wireless provider Sprint Nextel Corp, as rival bidder Dish Network Corp declined to make a new offer after SoftBank sweetened its own bid last week. SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son …

By Alister Bull and Pedro da Costa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said risks to the outlook for the U.S. economy and job market had eased since last fall, but it said it would keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month given the still-high level of unemployment. Describing the economy as expanding …

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Google Inc asked the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to allow it to publish aggregate numbers of national security requests it receives separately from criminal requests, on First Amendment grounds. In its filing, Google requested the court to allow it to publish the aggregate …

By Valentina Accardo PARMA, Italy (Reuters) - A court-appointed commissioner has recommended Italian dairy group Parmalat cut the price it paid to its parent company Lactalis to acquire its North American cheesemaking division by $151 million, a move that will please minority shareholders. Parmalat , which is 83-percent …

By Andrea Shalal-Esa PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. arms makers see rising foreign demand for fighter jets, missile defense systems and other weapons as countries modernize their forces and U.S. officials, facing tighter budgets, encourage allies to invest more in intelligence gathering and aerial refueling equipment. U.S. Air …

By Nivedita Bhattacharjee (Reuters) - FedEx Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, sending its shares higher, but the world's biggest air-freight company said it was cutting more capacity between the United States and Asia. The company, considered an economic bellwether because of the massive …