UNITED STATES

Luxury retailers, rejoice: the global economic downturn hasn't dented demand for pricey designer goods in China, where a study shows the affluent are buying handbags, watches and jewelry in force.

Banco Santander's Brazilian unit, the biggest IPO of the year, lagged far behind much smaller Warren Buffett-backed Verisk Analytics in their stock market debuts on Wednesday -- a sign that valuation remains a key concern as the IPO market revives.

After retreating to the safety of yen deposits in the wake of the financial crisis, Japan's wealthy investors are slowly regaining their appetite for risk and are eyeing foreign currencies and bonds for higher returns.

Stocks rose at the open on Thursday after a surprise profit from Alcoa Inc boosted the start of the earnings season.

More than a dozen drugs including a cancer therapy and a bowel medicine are under early scrutiny for potential side effects, U.S. regulators said in a quarterly list released on Thursday.

U.S. bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc said on Thursday it expects lower same-store sales for its current quarter and full year after adjusting its financial reporting period to reflect a recent acquisition.

Home buyers in much of the United States paid thousands of dollars below the asking price, but had slightly less negotiating power in August than in July, real estate website Zillow.com said on Thursday.

Barbra Streisand scored her ninth No. 1 album on the U.S. pop chart on Wednesday with a jazz release that overshadowed high-profile releases by some much-younger artists.

Stocks headed for a higher open on Thursday as a surprise profit from Alcoa Inc boosted the start of the earnings season and surging commodity prices underpinned a global equity advance.

An Australian talent show skit based around late pop star Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 has backfired after U.S. guest star Harry Connick Jr called for an apology and viewers accused the program of racism.

Actor Leonard Nimoy returns to U.S. television this week in his new guise as a mysterious mastermind on the show Fringe, but doubts that his Mr. Spock will head back to space, the final frontier.

British actress Carey Mulligan plays a teen who gets seduced in An Education.

U.S. retailers, including Macy's Inc and Abercrombie & Fitch , surprised Wall Street with better-than-expected September sales, suggesting shoppers could be loosening their purse strings ahead of the crucial holiday season.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance fell more-than-expected to a nine-month low last week, data showed, suggesting the labor market was healing despite a setback in September.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance fell more-than-expected to a nine-month low last week, data showed, suggesting the labor market was healing despite a setback in September.

A U.S. Senate Finance Committee health plan would cost $829 billion and cut the budget deficit by $81 billion over 10 years, nonpartisan budget analysts said on Wednesday in a report that could

Stock futures added to gains on Thursday following a report on weekly jobless claims that suggested some stabilization in the labor market.

Manhattan rents are expected to continue their fall until New York City's economy picks up and fortunes improve on Wall Street, according to a quarterly report issued by a New York realty firm.

The number of employees calling in sick to work with fake excuses is holding steady at one-third among U.S. workers each year but fewer are getting fired for it, according to research released on Tuesday.

California's plan to slow climate change will boost the state economy and save hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk from rising energy costs, a study by a University of California economist said on Wednesday.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance fell more-than-expected to a nine-month low last week, according to a government report on Thursday that suggested the labor market was healing despite a setback in September.