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Britain to start sale of Lloyds soon, review RBS split
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is ready to start selling its shares in Lloyds Banking Group and will examine whether to break up Royal Bank of Scotland , Finance Minister George Osborne said, admitting the re-privatization of RBS remains a long way off.

Micron posts quarterly profit as chip prices rise
(Reuters) - Micron Inc posted its first profit in eight quarters due to higher prices for its memory chips used in personal computers, mobile handsets and tablet devices.

Backers of immigration reform embrace upbeat economic assessment
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Backers of a landmark immigration bill voiced confidence on Wednesday that it will pass the U.S. Senate as early as next week, propelled by new evidence that the sweeping legislation would boost the economy and help narrow the government's budget deficit.

Alleged teacher coercion may threaten Atlanta test cheating case
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Indictments against 35 former public educators charged in a sweeping standardized test cheating case in Atlanta appeared to be on shaky ground Wednesday after a judge said he would likely rule they were coerced into talking to investigators.

Vermont police arrest 33 in cocaine, heroin sweep
BOSTON (Reuters) - Vermont police arrested 33 people on drug charges on Wednesday in a sweep aimed at tackling the state's growing heroin and cocaine problem, according to the state police.

Metabolic syndrome has declined, some risks persist
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Compared to a decade ago, fewer Americans have a cluster of risk factors that together can signal heart troubles and diabetes down the line, according to a new study.

Murkowski becomes third Republican U.S. senator to back gay marriage
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska publicly backed gay marriage on Wednesday, becoming the third Republican senator to do so as she spoke out ahead of potentially landmark rulings from the Supreme Court on the issue.

Exclusive: Forest mulls bid for Irish drugmaker Elan - sources
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 Plc, two people familiar with the situation said.

Brazil inflation erodes Rousseff's popularity: poll
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Growing discontent over rising prices in Brazil has dragged down President Dilma Rousseff's approval rating from record highs, pollsters said on Wednesday, adding that her popularity could deteriorate further if inflation is not tamed.

New York strikes deal to allow Las Vegas-style casinos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo struck a deal with state lawmakers to license new resort-style casinos, in an effort to help revive a stagnant economy in upstate New York, the governor said on Wednesday.

Prostate cancer treatment tied to hernia risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Prostate removal or radiation therapy to treat cancer is tied to two- to four-fold higher than usual risk of later having a hernia repaired, according to a new study.

Wall St. ends sharply lower after Bernanke comments
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, with losses accelerating in afternoon trading after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank could begin to scale back its stimulus measures later this year.

As Tea Party rallies, FBI says IRS probe a top priority
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than a dozen FBI agents are assigned to a criminal probe into Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of conservative political groups, FBI Director Robert Mueller said on Wednesday.

Harvard hires Xia from Morgan Stanley as chief risk officer
BOSTON (Reuters) - Harvard University said on Wednesday that it had hired Wall Street veteran Jake Xia as its chief risk officer to analyze and monitor investment exposure in its $30.7 billion endowment.

Woods out of action until British Open due to elbow strain
(Reuters) - Tiger Woods has been diagnosed with a left elbow strain that will keep him out of competition until next month's British Open at Muirfield, the world number one said on Wednesday.

Budget cuts hit security checks for defense contractors
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A budget shortfall has forced a Pentagon security unit to sharply cut back on regular investigations used to update security clearances for defense contractor employees.

Iran says appeals for 'jihad' in Syria fuel radicalism
KUWAIT (Reuters) - Calls by Sunni Muslim clerics for a holy war against the Syrian government and its Shi'ite allies are fuelling radicalism in the region, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday.

Bernanke points to reduced Fed bond buying this year
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the central bank expects to slow the pace of its bond purchases later this year and bring them to a halt around mid-2014, comments that weighed on stocks and pushed bond yields to a 15-month high.

After four decades, Black Sabbath tops U.S. album chart
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran heavy-metal band Black Sabbath landed its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, more than four decades after the rockers debuted their first album in the United States.

Russian official says statement on railway chief dismissal was hoax
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A statement announcing that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had dismissed Russian Railways chief Vladimir Yakunin was a hoax, Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said on Wednesday.