IBT Staff Reporter

Former Hewlett Packard CEO Mark Hurd made increasingly aggressive romantic advances over several years toward an independent contractor who later accused him of sexual harassment, according to claims in a letter from her lawyer obtained by Reuters.

Spain's new government said on Friday the public deficit for 2011 would come in at 8 percent of gross domestic product, well above a target of 6 percent, and announced income and property tax hikes and a civil servant wage freeze in response.

A new NBC-Marist poll mirrors a CNN/Time/ORC poll released earlier this week, affirming an 11th-hour picture of the Iowa caucuses in which Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are battling for the win, Rick Santorum has suddenly shed his sidenote status and Newt Gingrich has become virtually irrelevant.

Stocks edged lower on Friday, the last trading day of 2011, as investors waited for next year to begin making large bets.

Out with the old year, in with the new and for investors uncertainty is likely to be the only certainty once more.

New U.S. claims for jobless benefits rose last week but the underlying trend pointed to an improving labor market, while regional factory data showed the economy gaining momentum as the year ended.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat open Friday, the last trading day of 2011, as investors waited until next year to begin making large bets.

A leading presidential candidate of Mexico's ruling conservatives raised the possibility on Thursday of listing oil company Pemex on the stock exchange to help revamp the state-owned giant.

Stock index futures were little changed on Friday, the last trading day of 2011, as investors waited until the next year to begin making large bets.

Out with the old year, in with the new and for investors uncertainty is likely to be the only certainty once more.

Spain's centre-right government will announce billions of euros in savings measures on Friday, using its first decrees since sweeping to power at November elections to give the nation a foretaste of tougher austerity to come.

Ford Motor said its U.S. vehicle sales topped 2 million this year for the first time since 2007, implying a 15 percent share in the second biggest auto market in the world.

Two Arizona parents were arrested by sheriff's deputies after apparently posting pictures on Facebook that showed their children, an infant and a toddler, bound with duct tape, authorities said on Thursday.

The Chinese government is working with domestic Internet search engines like Baidu Inc and Sohu.com and financial institutions to prevent phishing attacks on unsuspecting Chinese web users.

Mobile phones, long seen as safe amid rising threats to computer security, have become a key target for hackers and an increasing worry for corporate IT departments.

China's factory activity shrank again December as demand at home and abroad slackened, a purchasing managers' survey showed on Friday, reinforcing the case for pro-growth policies to underpin the world's second-largest economy.

Asian stocks were poised to end their first losing year in three on Friday, having shed nearly a fifth of their value as Europe's debt crisis and financial turmoil took a toll on investors' risk appetite, driving them to safer assets such as the U.S. dollar and gold.

Asian stocks nudged higher and the euro clung to overnight gains on Friday, the last trading day of 2011, as positive data from the United States helped allay concerns on the global economy, while year-end short covering lifted crude prices.

General Electric Co's healthcare equipment unit paid more than $30 million to settle allegations that a company it bought in 2004 provided false information to overcharge Medicare for a drug used to diagnose heart disease, the Justice Department said.

The Trust Company of the West Group Inc and star bond investor Jeffrey Gundlach's DoubleLine Capital on Thursday said they had settled all claims between them, ending a long-running legal saga.

Two traditional retailers and a manufacturer have joined the ranks of hot tech companies like Facebook in the debate over a U.S. securities rule that can force privately held companies to disclose finances they'd rather keep secret.

The final week of the National Football League (NFL) regular season takes place on New Year's Day with seven teams battling for the last three available spots in the playoffs and another four hoping to earn a week off on the road to the Super Bowl.

Former Hewlett Packard CEO Mark Hurd made romantic advances over several years toward an independent contractor who later accused him of sexual harassment, according to a letter from her lawyer obtained by Reuters.

Is The Twilight Saga beginning to lose its grip on movie fans?

Basketball legend Michael Jordan is engaged to his long-time girlfriend Yvette Prieto, his spokeswoman said on Thursday.

When you rent a car, there's a chance the vehicle has been recalled and, if it has been, that it hasn't yet been repaired. That's at the heart of a battle over whether the rental car industry should be required to fix cars before sending them out with customers.

The actress who played tomboy Elly May Clampett on 1960s television show The Beverly Hillbillies has settled her lawsuit against Mattel over a Barbie doll based on her character.

In a major victory for California Governor Jerry Brown, the state supreme court on Thursday upheld a law that would eliminate 400 local redevelopment agencies and could divert billions of dollars to schools and other local services.

Shots are being fired in the world of the digital camera.