IBT Staff Reporter

Brett Ratner may have been a bold, unconventional choice to produce the 84th Academy Awards, but the bad boy director is stoking controversy among Academy members who worry he might not be the best choice to shepherd the cherished, historic and fairly conservative property.

Putting animal rights over fashion imperatives and its own vibrant shopping scene, leaders of the California city of West Hollywood have given final approval to a first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of fur clothing within its limits.

The doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson will star in a tell-all TV documentary airing this week, the company behind the film said on Tuesday.

After a truly scary Halloween that saw declines nearly all around, most shows rebounded Monday night. Only NBC's news offering, Rock Center With Brian Williams, failed to improve on last week's disappointing series premiere performance.

Oil producer group OPEC is investing in new supplies to meet rising consumption, even as it sees the risk to the demand outlook as being on the downside because of Europe's sovereign debt crisis and a slowing global economy.

The launch of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is just a few days away and gamers couldn't be more excited. If there is any proof needed just check out this Skyrim rap posted on YouTube by Dan Bull.

The governor of Nebraska says he has no problem with TransCanada building an oil pipeline through his state -- he just wants it on the other side of the state, not over the Ogallala aquifer.

Canadian housing starts slipped in October, but came in higher than expectations, as low interest rates and condominium building helped offset the impact of negative global economic news.

The world's largest Internet retailer, Amazon.com, plans to sell its Kindle e-book tablet at Virgin Megastore outlets in France as it tries to inject life into a market that has been slow to take off in the country.

Sony Ericsson said on Tuesday a shortage of key components will limit the production of some of its feature phones in the key holiday sales period.

The Justice Department's antitrust division is prepared to take AT&T Inc to court to stop its acquisition of T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG, Attorney General Eric Holder told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Global online music revenues are expected to rise by about 7 percent this year to $6.3 billion as digital services such as Spotify and iTunes gain momentum, technology research firm Gartner said on Tuesday.

Investment banks holding Greek bonds are using a new tool to avoid getting stuck with short positions they would struggle to close under a restructuring of the country's towering debt pile.

PepsiCo Inc's management and its board will extend their ongoing review of business plans for 2012 and beyond, the food and beverage maker said on Tuesday.

Stocks were little changed in choppy trade on Tuesday after a key vote in Italy's parliament clouded the political future of Prime Minster Silvio Berlusconi and raised the stakes in the European debt crisis.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi lost his parliamentary majority on Tuesday after his reform-shy government's borrowing costs soared into the euro zone's danger zone with investors fearing a new, bigger Greece.

Square, the mobile payment startup that counts former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers on its board of directors, has a new big-name backer: British billionaire Richard Branson.

The game was first supposed to launch on the PC on Oct. 18, but was delayed to Nov. 15. The game was pushed back again and will ship in North America on Nov. 22.

Bookseller Barnes & Noble rolled out its Nook Tablet yesterday and it's going to be a neck-and-neck race between B&N's latest offering and the Amazon Kindle Fire, which was announced earlier this year.

A 6-foot alligator was found prowling outside of a church in Michigan.

The telecommunication industry's biggest union, the Communications Workers of America, released a study Tuesday saying that up to 96,000 jobs will be created if the proposed $39 billion merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA takes place next year.

College students in the Northeast and the Midwest graduated with the most debt in the nation in 2010, according to a report released this week by The Project on Student Debt. The top spot went to New Hampshire.

Sony Ericsson said on Tuesday a shortage of key cellphone components will hurt sales volumes of some of its feature phones.

McDonald's Corp reported a bigger-than-expected rise in worldwide October sales at established restaurants as it continues to outperform competitors in an uncertain global economy.

Hewlett-Packard Co is looking to sell Palm's webOS mobile software platform, a deal that could fetch hundreds of millions of dollars but less than the $1.2 billion that HP paid last year, four sources close to the matter said.

Research In Motion will lose more market share in the United States and see its international growth limited as the rollout of the Blackberry maker's new operating platform hits snags, Barclays said, downgrading the stock by a notch to equalweight.

An asteroid is going to be passing very close to Earth this week. What information will astronomers and scientists be able to glean from this rare occasion?

The Emergency Alert System will be tested on radio and TV Wednesday for the first time nationally.

As Herman Cain announced a Tuesday afternoon press conference to deny a fourth woman's claim that he sexually harassed her, the woman, Sharon Bialek, said she stood by her story. Even some of Cain's supporters say he needs to go beyond blanket denials now that there is a name and a face attached to the allegations.