IBT Staff Reporter

Moody's on Friday cut Belgium's credit rating by two notches, saying the euro zone debt crisis increases funding risks for countries with high public debt burdens.

The International Trade Commission said on Friday it will revisit in part a decision by an ITC administrative law judge, who had found no violation by Apple of four HTC patents that include technologies for power management and phone dialing.

I remember when Christopher Hitchens first said that if you gave Jerry Falwell an enema you could bury him in a matchbox. The combination of pugnacity, imagery and wit in that single phrase was what made Hitchens the most formidable debater of our time. Having debated with him a number of times across the country, I was often on the lash end of that wit.

A months-long delay in Research in Motion's new BlackBerrys and a dreary quarterly report sent RIM shares tumbling again on Friday and pushed some analysts to sound the death knell for the mobile device that once defined the industry.

Christopher Hitchens, esteemed essayist, author and journalist, died on Thursday of complications from esophageal cancer. He was 62.

British-born journalist and atheist intellectual Christopher Hitchens, who made the United States his home and backed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, died on Thursday at the age of 62.

Christopher Hitchens was as divisive as they come in print, but the news of his death has elicited a universal outpouring of grief and respect from the journalistic community -- and from some unlikely sources.

Bank of America Corp's current chief executive is doing the right things to fix the company, but it will take time, said Hugh McColl Jr., the retired architect of the second biggest U.S. bank.

There is still a lot of work to do before hundreds of millions of dollars can be returned to customers of bankrupt MF Global , the woman leading the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's investigation said on Friday.

A law firm that led mortgage bondholders to extract a $8.5 billion settlement from Bank of America Corp is turning its sights on JPMorgan Chase & Co .

Bill Gross's PIMCO Total Return Fund, the world's largest bond fund, keeps shrinking as investors look to put their money with some of his competitors.

American viewers have chosen the three singers who will compete in the finals of The X Factor after a first season that underwhelmed critics and raised questions about audience fatigue ahead of returning TV contests American Idol and The Voice.

Grammy-winning R&B singer Etta James is terminally ill, her live-in physician said in an interview this week that confirmed reports of the singer's fading health.

Even the safest euro zone banks could start queuing up at the European Central Bank for cash in the next few months as their massive exposure to government debt freezes them out of money markets.

A rally in stocks fizzled, leaving major indexes with modest gains on Friday, as Wall Street was torn between hope that U.S. economic data signals better times ahead and fear Europe's debt crisis will engulf world economies.

U.S. health officials will allow states to select the basic set of medical benefits that must be offered by insurance plans participating in new exchanges mandated by the federal healthcare overhaul, the U.S. government said on Friday.

Six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were sued by U.S. regulators on charges of misleading investors about the mortgage finance companies' exposure to risky home loans in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

Many U.S. surgeons fail to discuss their patients' wishes in case a risky operation goes awry, and even more would not operate if patients limited what could be done to keep them alive, a survey found.

Europe's financial crisis poses a threat to U.S. banks and the economy but it is up to the continent's leaders -- not the Federal Reserve -- to find a resolution, a top official at the central bank said on Friday.

Home-run king Barry Bonds avoided a prison sentence on Friday over a single criminal conviction related to an investigation of steroids in sports, a punishment one prosecutor called a slap on the wrist.

U.S. securities regulators on Friday charged Daniel Ruettiger -- the inspiration behind the 1993 movie Rudy -- and 12 others with running a scheme to deceive investors into buying stock in Ruettiger's sports drink company.

Ian Meldrum, Australia's top music journalist and a friend of singer Elton John is in critical condition after falling from a ladder while hanging Christmas decorations, doctors said on Friday.

Comic book artist Joe Simon, who created Captain America with the late Jack Kirby, has died at age 98, a family spokesman said on Thursday.

Artist leads Golden Globes. Do Oscars await?

Actor Christian Bale was roughed up by Chinese security guards as he attempted to visit a blind legal activist whose detention has sparked a domestic and international outcry, CNN reported on Friday.

NBC's new quiz show Who's Still Standing? has contestants dropping through the floor, and the burgeoning Israeli TV industry whooping with delight.

When Roman calls, Kate goes to work. Holidays can wait.

Iconic California surf band The Beach Boys will reunite in 2012 to release a new album and embark on a 50-date worldwide tour celebrating their 50th anniversary, the band said on Friday.

Apple Inc is famous for relying on low-cost Asian manufacturers to both source and assemble its popular gadgets, but the consumer device giant recently started receiving a critical component in its iPad and iPhones from closer to home - Texas.