In other government news, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce a decision on interest rates, the Commerce Department will release new homes sales data for December, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will testify at a House hearing regarding AIG and the Federal Reserve.

FORBES: Wednesday Briefing: Tablets, Speeches, and Hearings

Powered by a secretary and a six-person sales force, Red Bull began to show up in retail outlets and bars across Austria.

FORBES: Billionaires

But nobody, the government now says, thought to mention Sandline's activities, or the investigation, to a foreign secretary known throughout his department for having put control of arms sales at the centre of his newly ethical foreign policy.

ECONOMIST: Ethics man

This week Hillary Clinton, America's secretary of state, was admirably tough, condemning Russia's sales of arms to Syria.

ECONOMIST: Russia and the West: Living with Putin, again | The

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama's Friday announcement that the U.S. will implement sanctions that could significantly cut sales of Iranian oil was not tied to a meeting the same day between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Saudi King Abdullah, a senior administration official told CNN.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Two days ago, Forbes first reported that Morgan Stanley had been served earlier with a subpoena by Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin seeking details of its variable annuity sales, including revenue-sharing arrangements, compensation, whether the products receive preferred sales treatment, commission schedules, prospectuses and documents for internal use only (see: " Morgan Stanley Subpoenaed Over Annuity Sales").

FORBES: Morgan, Merrill Face Lawsuits Over Annuities

Secretary Clinton has promised Senator Cornyn that the decision on F-16 sales would be made by October 1st.

WHITEHOUSE: Via Telephone

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said "smart sanctions" might include a ban on arms sales to Iran, tough UN shipping inspections and "action against the interests of the Iranian revolutionary guard corps".

BBC: Foreign Office questions

Even if the secretary of state cannot see the compelling reasons for discouraging Russian competition in weapon sales to responsible purchasers, he should recognize that doing so will not preclude Moscow's continuing arms transfers to irresponsible ones.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Russia Hints at Blackmail Over Arms

The secretary of state took the view, as he was entitled to do, that separating sales from production was too drastic a remedy.

ECONOMIST: Stephen Byers is making a mess of competition policy