UNITED STATES

More than one-quarter of homeowners receiving help under a U.S. government foreclosure prevention plan are behind on their new mortgage payments, a Treasury Department survey has found.

U.S. security regulators are investigating possible ties between a former chief executive of California pension fund Calpers and a former Calpers board member, and a financier who has pleaded guilty in a New York pension fund corruption case, The Sacramento Bee said on Saturday, citing court documents.

If the bulls have their way, Wall Street's rally will keep going next week on signs of stability in the labor market. But concerns about penny-pinching consumers during the holiday shopping season and the specter of higher interest rates may be a hurdle to jump.

General Motors will not cut more jobs at Opel in Germany if the German government refuses to give state aid although the U.S. carmaker said it remains confident Berlin will soften its current stance.

German climate activists posing as international leaders sat inside a giant aquarium which was filled with water on Saturday in a protest held in Berlin against the world's rising sea levels.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will attend the end of the U.N. climate summit, joining dozens of leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, in the latest sign of growing momentum toward a new global accord.

An Italian court sentenced American student Amanda Knox to 26 years in prison and jailed her ex-boyfriend for 25 years after they were found guilty of murdering Knox's British roommate during a drunken sex game.

Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski was released on bail into house arrest at his Swiss chalet on Friday while he fights extradition to the U.S. over a 1977 charge of having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

A signed four-page letter written by George Washington to his nephew in 1787 sold for $3.2 million, and two works by Edgar Allen Poe set new sales records on Friday in auctions held by Christie's.

Apple Inc has acquired digital music service Lala, as the dominant online music retailer explores new models for selling songs.

Cuban musicians are returning to perform in the United States after a long freeze on such visits, seizing the opportunity of friendlier overtures toward Havana from U.S. President Barack Obama.

Regulators seized six more U.S. banks on Friday, bringing the tally of failures to 130 this year as the bank industry continues to suffer under the weight of deteriorating loans.

Apple Inc has acquired digital music service Lala, as the dominant online music retailer explores new models for selling songs.

Apple Inc is in early talks to acquire digital music service Lala, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

They normally ponder ways to entertain Americans, but media chiefs this week entertained more somber thoughts about the future of the United States, as several saw a fading superpower hobbled by the recession

Apple Inc is in early talks to acquire digital music service Lala, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Comcast Corp and NBC Universal executives said on Friday they hope to submit documents to antitrust and communications regulators in January.

President Obama, who had planned to speak at the climate change summit in UN summit on climate change in Copenhagen on Wednesday, will now only arrive on Dec. 18, the White House said Friday.

Cisco Systems Inc is expected next week to say it can return to double-digit sales growth due to a stronger economy and expansion in high-growth businesses, including the acquisition of videoconference leader Tandberg .

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Friday that not even the largest banks could have survived without government intervention last year.

Myanmar's Supreme Court said Friday that It will allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate to appeal against the extended house arrest.