PC shipments fall, 1 firm says Lenovo overtakes HP

NEW YORK (AP) -- Worldwide shipments of PCs fell sharply in the third quarter, as some consumers spent their electronics dollars on smartphones and tablets and others held off for a new version of Windows.

One research firm also estimated Wednesday that Chinese PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd. outsold Hewlett-Packard Co. for the first time to become the world's largest seller of PCs.

Gartner said global PC shipments fell 8.3 percent to 87.5 million, while IDC said the decline was 8.6 percent to 87.8 million. Their reports came hours after a third research firm, IHS iSuppli, projected that PC shipments are bound for their first annual decline in 11 years.

IMF offers bleak assessment of stalled recovery

TOKYO (AP) -- Plagued by uncertainty and fresh setbacks, the world economy has weakened further and will grow more slowly over the next year, the International Monetary Fund says in its latest forecast.

Advanced economies are risking recession, the international lending organization said in a quarterly update of its World Economic Outlook, and the malaise is spreading to more dynamic emerging economies such as China.

Romney skips 'Kids Pick the President' TV special, disses children, producer says

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Mitt Romney may want to reconsider his campaign strategy involving the pint-size voters of tomorrow.

The Republican presidential candidate skipped the chance to take part in Nickelodeon's "Kids Pick the President" special that includes President Barack Obama, said Linda Ellerbee, the show's host and executive producer. The decision "disses" children, she said.

During last week's presidential debate, Romney vowed to cut federal funding for PBS while acknowledging it's the home of popular "Sesame Street" character Big Bird.

Re-elected Chavez faces likely economic reckoning

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- During his re-election campaign, President Hugo Chavez promised to deepen the "21st century socialism" that has meant an ever-greater state role in the economy. That message won him a surprising 11-percentage point win in what many had thought would be a tight race.

Still, he's set to start a fourth presidential term under challenging economic circumstances. The government's free-spending ways, bankrolling the generous social programs that aided his re-election, may be seriously crimped.

Chavez faces immediate economic time bombs beginning with a rapidly expanding public debt, one of Latin America's highest inflation rates and a weakening currency.

More than 30 civilians killed by Nigeria military

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) -- Nigerian soldiers angry about the killing of an officer shot dead more than 30 civilians Monday in a northeastern city long under siege by a radical Islamist sect.

The attack came from soldiers attached to a special military unit on guard in Maiduguri, the spiritual home of the sect known as Boko Haram, in an effort to supposedly protect its citizens from the violence gripping the city. The killings likely will further antagonize a population already alienated by checkpoints, security force harassment and the threat of being killed by soldiers who are targets for the sect's increasingly bloody guerrilla attacks.