IBT Staff Reporter

Fitch Ratings on Friday cut Italy's sovereign credit rating by one notch and Spain's by two, citing a worsening of the euro zone debt crisis and a risk of fiscal slippage in both countries.

Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger will step down in March 2015 after less than 10 years at the helm of the largest U.S. media and entertainment conglomerate.

Sprint has already committed to purchasing 30.5 million iPhones over 4 years, which is estimated to cost $20 billion at current rates. The decision could reap rewards for the struggling carrier, or could have devastating consequences.

Microsoft secured EU approval on Friday to purchase internet voice and video service Skype for $8.5 billion, its biggest ever acquisition.

Chrysler Group LLC intends to reach a four-year labor contract with the United Auto Workers without arbitration, but Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne warned that the union's deals with its crosstown rivals may be too costly for the smallest U.S. automaker.

Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger will step down as CEO in March 2015 after nearly a decade at the helm, setting in motion a succession plan for the largest U.S. media and entertainment company.

Nearly 200 acts survived their first encounters with Simon Cowell on The X Factor, but this week's boot camp episodes of the TV singing contest will sort out the weak from the strong.

Filmmakers Alex Gibney (“Enron”), Peter Joseph (“Zeitgeist”), Michael Moore (“Capitalism: A Love Story”) and Charles Ferguson (“Inside Job”) top the list of documentarians whose work scrutinizes the establishment and actually calls it what it is: damaged goods.

BOSTON (Reuters Life!) - Social media is legendary for its transparency and speed, but that also means that your mistakes can be wildly visible. Being upfront is a good way to start recovering, says Harvard Business Review.

Steve Jobs was one of the few people in history to revolutionize the way the world communicates.

Research In Motion has reached a deal to buy Ireland's NewBay, a provider of photo, video, and social-network tools for smartphones and computers, the BlackBerry maker said on Friday.

Catching a flight home this Thanksgiving? Here are four simple tips to getting the best deal on airfare.

Intellectual Ventures, a privately-held patent holding firm co-founded by former Microsoft Corp chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold, sued Motorola Mobility Holdings in the U.S. District Court of Delaware for patent infringement.

Belgium's federal government and its regions clashed on Friday over the fate of the Belgian banking activities of stricken Dexia SA , delaying a joint Franco-Belgian rescue of the group.

Sprint Nextel Corp plans to upgrade its network in time to launch high-speed wireless services by the middle of 2012 and expects to complete its upgrade by the end of 2013, a top executive for the company said on Friday.

Stocks declined on Friday after downgrades of Spain's and Italy's credit ratings underscored worries about the European debt crisis, overshadowing better-than-expected U.S. jobs data.

An entire north-central Illinois community was evacuated after a train carrying ethanol alcohol derailed overnight and caught fire, authorities said on Friday.

Facing the prospect of a deeper crisis in Europe, the International Monetary Fund is weighing whether it could expand its rescue lending capacity through debt issuance or bilateral borrowing.

The risk of U.S. inflation is minor compared with an ongoing morass in the jobs market, two top Federal Reserve officials said after the government reported a steady 9.1 percent jobless rate.

Stocks declined on Friday after downgrades of Spain's and Italy's credit ratings underscored worries about the European debt crisis, overshadowing better-than-expected U.S. jobs data.

Sprint Nextel Corp declined to detail its commitments to Apple Inc for selling the iPhone and said its financial forecast does not include iPhone costs.

Sprint Nextel Corp expects to upgrade its high-speed wireless services network faster than it expected, sending its shares up more than 7 percent on Friday.

A toxicologist from the Los Angeles coroner's office will resume testimony today about the drugs found in Michael Jackson's system to begin the ninth day of proceedings in Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial.

Netflix and AMC Networks Inc have signed a new licensing agreement that gives the popular streaming video service exclusive rights in the United States and Canada to the hit show The Walking Dead.

Herman Cain holds an astounding 20-point lead over Mitt Romney in a poll of Republican primary voters, and he is in a statistical tie with President Obama.

Sony Corp is in talks to buy out Ericsson's stake in their mobile phone joint venture, a source said, in a bid to catch up with rivals.

Sprint Nextel Corp plans to upgrade its high-speed wireless services network faster than it previously expected.

Job creation accelerated more than expected in September, easing the risk of a new recession, although the economy still created too few positions to heal the labor market much.

Canada churned out a stunning 60,900 jobs in September, once again outshining the United States with an economy that is humming along even as other rich nations struggle with debt and slumping confidence.